Aaron Ashbrook
Assistant Professor Louisiana State University
Media
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Research Focus
Urban Pest Insects & Integrated Pest Management
Dr. Ashbrook’s research focuses on urban and peri-urban pest insects, with an emphasis on subterranean termite biology, behavior, and insecticide resistance in Gulf Coast environments. He uses field surveillance, laboratory toxicology assays, and integrated pest-management modeling to craft sustainable control strategies that protect homes and urban landscapes.
Education
Purdue University
Ph.D.
Entomology
2020
Purdue University
M.S.
Entomology
2015
Grand Valley State University
B.S.
Biology
2011
Media Appearances
Here's how to protect the Baton Rouge bat population, plus how they benefit Louisiana yards.
The Advocate online
2025-06-07
Aaron Ashbrook, an assistant professor for the LSU Entomology department, specializes in urban entomology. He recently hosted a seminar series at LSU AgCenter's LaHouse Research and Education Center for state sanitarians who expressed interest in the local bat population. Ashbrook's lecture focused on correcting misinformation about pollinator support, mosquito management and bat conservation.
Termites aren’t just a threat to structures
The Eunice News online
2025-05-30
“If we fill our raised garden beds with logs or large pieces of wood in addition to compost that has a high percentage of wood inside, we can inadvertently lure in termites,” said Aaron Ashbrook, an entomologist with the LSU AgCenter.
Does your home have roaches? Here’s how to spot, kill and get rid of this common Louisiana pest
MSN online
2024-08-09
There are many cockroach species, not just in the state but worldwide. According to LSU Assistant Professor of Urban/Pieri-Urban Entomology Dr. Aaron Ashbrook, the most common two species are the American cockroach and the German cockroach.
Termite season is at its peak: Here's what to look for
KATC 3 ABC online
2024-05-20
"What they are doing at that time is focusing on mating," said Aaron Ashbrook, an Entomologist with the LSU's Ag center.
LSU AgCenter offers tips to survive termite season
WDSU online
2024-05-13
Aaron Ashbrook, an assistant professor of entomology at LSU, told WDSU that termites cause billions of dollars worth of damage worldwide each year.
Articles
Lethal disruption of the bacterial gut community in Eastern subterranean termite caused by boric acid
Journal of Economic Entomology2024
The Eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae), is a significant pest, causing extensive damage to structures that amount to substantial economic losses. Boric acid is widely used for wood preservation due to its stability and broad-spectrum insecticidal properties, yet its impact on termite gut microbiomes and the implications of such effects remain understudied. Our study evaluates the dose-dependent mortality of R. flavipes upon being provided boric acid treated filter papers and investigates the resulting dysbiosis within the termite gut microbiome.
Lethal and sublethal heat-exposure of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) causes alarm pheromone emission and elicits a movement response in nearby recipients
Scientific Reports2024
Many gregarious insect species use aggregation and alarm pheromones. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., emits an alarm pheromone (AP), a 70/30 blend of (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal, when threatened. Bed bugs avoid temperatures above 43 °C, which are lethal to bugs and used commercially as spatial heat treatments to manage infestations. However, the interaction of bed bug AP in heat avoidance has not been investigated. The goal of this research was to: 1) determine if bed bugs emit AP as an alarm response to heat exposure, and 2) quantify the behavioral responses of conspecifics to AP emitted by heat-exposed bed bugs.
Comparative Efficacy of a Fungal Entomopathogen with a Broad Host Range against Two Human‐Associated Pests
Insects2022
Bed bugs and German cockroaches have adapted to thrive in human structures. In the present study, we use different techniques to expose bed bugs and German cockroaches to Beauveria bassiana, a fungal pathogen that only infects insects, to test their susceptibility to infection. The tests with bed bugs revealed that they were highly susceptible to fungal infections, no matter how we exposed them to the pathogen. The German cockroaches were only infected by fungi through certain routes of exposure. Fungal pathogens have the potential to control bed bugs but will require additional research and innovative technologies to be effective against cockroaches.
Characterization of heat exposure‐associated escape behaviors and HSP gene expression in bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.)
Pest Management Science2022
Heat can be effective for bed bug elimination. However, in some cases bed bugs survive heat treatments. The objectives of this study were to determine the behavioral responses of bed bugs to rising harborage temperatures (23.0–49.0 °C) and identify which heat shock protein (HSP) genes are expressed after heat exposure. First, a custom‐made copper arena and harborage were used to determine the escape behaviors of six bed bug populations. Next, HSP gene expression responses of select populations were determined after heat exposure using real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR).
Rapid evolutionary responses to insecticide resistance management interventions by the German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.)
Scientific Reports2019
The German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.) is a worldwide pest that lives exclusively in human environments. B. germanica threatens human health by producing asthma-triggering allergens, vectoring pathogenic/antibiotic-resistant microbes, and by contributing to unhealthy indoor environments. While insecticides are essential for reducing cockroach populations and improving health outcomes, insecticide resistance has been a consistent barrier to cockroach control since the 1950s. We conducted seminal field studies to compare three insecticide resistance intervention strategies for cockroaches and evaluated resistance evolution across multiple generations.
