Submitted to: Journal of the Florida Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/13/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), is currently the most important fly pest of cattle in the US. The fly feeds on blood and the bites are painful. The animals to stomp their feet, toss their heads and swish their tails in an effort to dislodge the flies. There are several traps on the market that attract and trap stable flies on sticky surfaces. It has been known since the 1950s that stable flies are attracted by carbon dioxide (CO2) and that CO2 can increase the trap catch. However, CO2 can be expensive to use as dry ice and in compressed gas tanks. There are 2 products, the BG CO2 Generator, and the ICA-TriNova LLC CO2 generator system, available that produce CO2 from dry powders or with the addition of sugar and water. When tested in a Latin Square design in an outdoor screen enclosure, dry ice, CO2 from compressed gas tanks, and the 2 commercial products attracted more stable flies than a control with no CO2. Dry ice consistently attracted more stable flies than the commercial products, but the commercial products attracted enough flies to yield data which can be used for a population estimate. Using the commercial products will be more economical for trapping research.

Technical Abstract: Carbon dioxide has long been used as an attractant for blood feeding insects, especially to increase the numbers of insects captured in traps. Although the use of CO2 has become an integral part of many trapping programs, it has always been costly and difficult to use. Our attention was drawn to two products on the market which produce CO2 from dry ingredients. One product, the BG CO2 Generator (Biogents, Regensburg, Germany), is activated by the addition of water but the other, the ICA-TriNova LLC CO2 generator system (ICA TriNova, LLC., Newnan, GA) is activated by the addition of a dry activator powder to dry sodium bicarbonate crystals. These products were evaluated in a large, outdoor screened enclosure against dry ice, CO2 in compressed gas tanks, and an untreated control in a Latin Square design. All treatments using CO2 attracted more stable flies than the untreated control. Dry ice numerically outperformed the two commercial products in 2 out of 3 tests, but the commercial products all attracted many more flies than the untreated control, and numbers were high enough to be used for field studies. Current pricing and product use are discussed.