Solenopsis invicta Buren (Myrmicinae), natived from Parana River basin of south America (Ascunce MS et al. 2011), is a severe invasive pest of quarantine significance. As a start-off region in mainland China, Guangdong has experienced a long history of S. invicta invasion with a wide and serious spread ( Zhang B et al. 2015). Native ant species had reduced by up to 90% in highly infested areas as a result of invading ant displacement (Porter SD and Savignano DA 1990). Furthermore, an increase in S. invicta has a deleterious impact on arthropods that S. invicta preys on at all life stages, including eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults (Stiles JH and Jones RH 2001). It wreaks havoc on the environment, reducing population variety and local biodiversity in invaded regions. Furthermore, it endangers human health and in extreme circumstances, human life, as well as social and public safety.
Fire ants also degrades public infrastructure, resulting in significant losses in agricultural productivity and the national economy. It was reported that S. invicta caused approximately US $5 billion in annual losses in urban and rural regions (Zhang et al. 2007; Cheng et al. 2008). More than $250 million has been spent by state and federal authorities to manage or eradicate the fire ant (Collins and Scheffrahn 1969).
In order to control the fire ants, traditional insecticides and baits were widely used worldwide. Nevertheless long-term excessive use of these products has adverse effects on the environment and non-target organisms due to the highly toxic and difficult to degrade. Additionally, it will promote pest resistance. Given that these problems, it is of great significance to search for a new effective control methods for ants. The natural substances which is non-toxic and can degraded rapidly in natural environment is necessary to ecological environment and humans security (Xiao et al. 2020)
For the past few years, alternative to synthetic insecticides or soft insecticidal chemicals have generated widespread interest. Plants or secondary metabolites, the source of bio-active chemicals, are renewable, cheap, biodegradable and environment friendly and could be used as safe alternatives (Singh et al. 1978; Pereira 1983; Mahfuz and Khalequzzaman 2007). There are plenty of plant extracts have been found to have anti-insect properties (Singh et al. 1978; Pereira 1983). These substances impact insects by disrupting main metabolic processes, which resulting in fast mortality; they may also operate as attractants, antifeedants, oviposition modifiers.
Garlic (Allium sativum) is one of the most promising natural product sources. It’s the best well known medicinal plants which has several medicinal properties, such as immunoregulation, hypolipidemic effects, anticoagulation, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential (Calvo-Gómez et al. 2004; Molina-Calle et al. 2016). Organosulfur molecules, the majority of which are volatile, are primarily responsible for these health benefits (Molina-Calle et al. 2016). Early studies indicated Most of these properties have been attributed to volatile sulfur-containing chemicals, which do not exist in entire plants in nature but can be created by enzymatic reaction after tissue disruption (Mondy et al. 2001; Chen et al. 2007).
Its widespread use implies that it is quite safe for mammals. Garlic is generally considered to be harmless, biodegradable, and widely available in many regions of the world. In addition, it was discovered that garlic contains insecticidal, repellant, antifeedant, and acarocidal characteristics. It also has anti-avoidance, contact killing, population inhibition on numerous key stored grain pests, notably fumigation (Amonkar and Reeves 1970; Wei KX et al. 2009). Singh (2017) found that the active component in garlic, methyl allyl disulfide and diallyl trisulfide were shown to be effective toxicants and fumigants against S. zeamais and T. castaneum. And T. castaneum eggs, larvae, and adults died as a result of exposure to fresh garlic clove essential oil obtained by steam distillation (Ho et al. 1996). In this study, the volatile compounds were extracted from garlic by solid phase microextraction and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. And evaluate the garlic and two main constituent compounds of garlic against red imported fire ants and the behavior inhibition.