Ambient moisture causes methomyl residues on corn plants to rapidly lose toxicity to the pest slug, Arion subfuscus, Muller (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora)

The carbamate insecticide methomyl is sometimes used to control slugs in field corn and soybean by foliar applications, but control outcomes in research trials and commercial operations have been mixed. In this study, laboratory bioassays were conducted on dusky slug, Arion subfuscus Muller, a common pest of corn and soybean in the Mid-Atlantic United States, to evaluate residual toxicity of Lannate LV (methomyl) at low and high concentrations corresponding to label recommended field rates, and if toxicity may be affected by ambient moisture or repellency to treated plants. Without wetting events, methomyl residues on corn plants caused 90-100% mortality of A. subfuscus for two days and 70-90% mortality for six days. When corn plants were briefly misted with ca. 0.3 cm of water 6 h after methomyl application, mortality was 36% 12 h after treatment, and 0 to 5% 24 h after treatment for both low and high rates. Repellency of A. subfuscus to corn plants treated with the high rate of methomyl was narrowly significant (P = 0.04) and low rate was not significant. These results suggest that high ambient moisture needed to elicit slug activity in the field also abates toxicity of methomyl residues, explaining why field control is usually poor despite high mortality in the lab.

Automated summary

The insecticide methomyl can cause high mortality of the dusky slug, Arion subfuscus, on corn plants, but poor control outcomes in field operations are likely due to the high ambient moisture levels that reduce the toxicity of methomyl residues and lessen the repellency of treated plants to slugs.