ABSTRACT
When population outbreaks of Paratrechina (Nylanderia) fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Formicinae) first occurred in Colombia, control measures were unknown. Initially, farmers sprayed or dusted grasslands with carbaryl, an insecticide with low residual toxicity that had to be used frequently and at high cost (ICA 1972). Aldrin was also applied, mainly at the base of coffee trees; this and other chlorinated hydrocarbons were soon banned for use in coffee, making it necessary to find efficient and environmentally safe control measures for the different types of problems caused by the ants.
