Compositions of keratin hydrolysate and microbes for pest control applications

US8263526B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture · US

Inventors

• Christopher A. Dunlap · Dunlap, US
• Mark A. Jackson · Rochester, US
• Maureen S. Wright · New Orleans, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 2, 2009
• Grant date: Sep 11, 2012
• Expiry date: Dec 16, 2029

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A01N63/30
• WIPO field: Basic materials chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The combination of keratin hydrolysate with viable cells or infectious propagules of a fungal biological control agent such as Paecilomyces species, Metarhizium species, Beauveria species, and/or Verticillium species, provides effective control of soil-dwelling or subterranean insects, including termites, and particularly those belonging to the family Rhinotermitidae, such as the Formosan subterranean termite and native North American subterranean termites. In use, a foam-forming composition comprising the keratin hydrolysate and an insecticidally effective amount of the fungus are applied to the insects, the locus of the insects, to material susceptible to infestation by said insects, or to the locus of material susceptible to infestation by said insects.