Fumigant toxicity of essential oils of Mentha pulegium L. on adults of Callosobruchus maculatus, Tribolium castaneum, Lasioderma serricorne and Sitophilus oryzae in laboratory conditions

The interest in the use of essential oils for insect pest control originates from the need for pesticide products with less negative environmental and health impact than highly effective synthetic pesticides. In the present study, fumigant toxicity of essential oil from Mentha pulegium was assessed on the adults of Callosobruchus maculatus, Tribolium castaneum, Lasioderma serricorne and Sitophilus oryzae. Experiment was carried out at 28 ± 2 °C and 65 ± 5% R. H. in 5 concentrations and 3 replications in 24 hour, under dark condition. The results demonstrated that mortality increased with the increase in concentration. The results indicated that the LC50 values at 24 h. after treatment were 97.3, 165.5, 419.2 and 12.7 ?l/L air for adults of C. maculatus, T. castaneum, L. serricorne and S. oryzae, respectively. S. oryzae was more susceptible to M. pulegium than other pests. It was found that plant essential oil M. pulegium had high potential in controlling different stored pest.