Acaricidal efficacy of ultraviolet-C irradiation of Tetranychus urticae adults and eggs using a pulsed krypton fluoride excimer laser

BACKGROUND: Pulsed ultraviolet (UV)-C light sources, such as excimer lasers, are used in emerging non-thermal food-decontamination methods and also have high potential for use in a wide range of microbial decontamination applications. The acaricidal effect of an experimental UV-C irradiation device was assessed using female adults and eggs of a model organism, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae. METHODS: UV-C light was generated by a pulsed krypton fluoride excimer laser operating at 248-nm emission wavelength. The pulse energy and pulse repetition rate were 5 mJ and up to 100 Hz, respectively. The distance from the light source to the target was 150 mm; the target surface area was 2.16 cm(2). The exposure time for the mites and fresh eggs varied from 1 to 4 min at 5–300 mW, which corresponded to UV doses of 5–80 kJ/m(2). Post-irradiation acaricidal effects (mite mortality) were assessed immediately and also measured at 24 h. The effects of UV-C irradiation on the hatchability of eggs were observed daily for up to 12 days post-irradiation. RESULTS: The mortality of mites at 5 and 40 kJ/m(2) was 26% and 92%, respectively. Mite mortality reached 98% at 80 kJ/m(2). The effect of exposure duration on mortality was minimal. The effect of irradiation on egg hatchability was even more significant than that on adult mite mortality, i.e. about 100% egg mortality at an accumulated dose of as little as 5 kJ/m(2) for each exposure time. CONCLUSIONS: A high rate of mite mortality and lethal egg damage were observed after less than 1 min of exposure to 5 mJ UV-C pulsed irradiation at 60 Hz. Pending further developments (such as beam steering, beam shaping and miniaturisation) and feasibility studies (such as testing with mites in real-life situations), the reported results and characteristics of the UV-C generator (modulation of energy output and adaptability to varying spot sizes) open up the use of this technology for a vast field of acaricidal applications that require long-range radiation. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-021-05085-7.