Natural-Rubber-Based Adhesives for Housefly (Musca domestica) Control

Abstract

Adhesives based on natural biomaterials (natural rubber and palm olein) were developed to control flying insects, especially houseflies, in food handling areas. The composition of the adhesive and the average molar mass of the rubber affected the insect-trapping performance. Increased palm olein content, or reduced rubber molar mass, decreased the adhesive viscosity, with the former linked to a plasticizing effect and the latter linked to a reduced tendency of the rubber molecules to entangle. This viscosity reduction enhanced the contact area between the adhesive and adherend, thereby improving the adhesion performance; however, an excessively low adhesive viscosity adversely affected the performance because of a loss of adhesive by gravity-driven drippage. Optimal fly trapping performance required dissolving 1 kg of rubber (average molar mass = 6.0 × 105 ± 2.1 × 104 kg kmol-1) in 2 kg of palm olein. This formulation performed well in field tests and was less expensive compared to commercially available insect-trapping glues.