Laboratory reared, field collected insects, and garden pests are tested for susceptibility to numerous new and existing commercial products by our technicians using advanced bioassay techniques. Our inventory of medically important insects of the urban environment includes cockroaches, mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, and even the common housefly. All of these can be assayed at this facility for products from repellents to direct toxicants. Other urban pests affecting man that are commonly studied at Pacific Ag include ants, wasps, spiders and termites. With all our insectary studies, our bioassays are conducted with micro pipettes for direct topical application to test specimens. Also included with these indoor pests are standard operating procedures for: substrate exposure testing, and behavioral studies for repellency through the use of olfactometers and choice arenas, depending on the insect species studied.

Garden pests commonly studied for product development include snails, slugs, crickets, sow bugs, pill bugs and earwigs. These studies typically take place in our screen houses, or alternatively, outdoors, to include a weathering component for different formulations or carriers of the active ingredient.