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This technique involves saturating the environment with the insect’s sex pheromone. This confuses the males, so that they cannot locate the females and the consequent mating is prevented or minimised.
It is recommended that these pheromones should be placed in horticultural crops just before planting and in woody plants just before the insect’s first flights, as this measure is effective when pest infestation levels are low.
Pheromones are attractants of various type of insects, which are aimed, depending on the type of trap with which they are combined, at monitoring insects to determine their phenology, distribution, density and dispersion as pests, or even for mass trapping.
Mass trapping is a fairly common technique used in fruit, vegetable and olive growing. Normally it involves placing a high density of traps with an attractant and an insecticide to prevent the insect escaping. The dose can be gradually modified, depending on the captures, damage and pest density, until the pest is completely controlled.