Preliminary observations on the efficacy of olfactory attractants derived from wild hosts of tsetse

Abstract

Efficacy of olfactory attractants incorporated in biconical traps to enhance the catch size of Glossina pallidipes Austen was investigated. Preliminary studies considered the effectiveness of a mixture of waste products from buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and that of warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus). The results were compared with the known tsetse olfactory attractants, carbon dioxide and acetone. When the waste product components from buffalo were used in the traps separately, buffalo urine was found to be by far the most effective. This component, used in its natural state inside the trap, increased G. pallidipes catches almost 10-fold when compared with the control catch.