There are various methods/ways/media to inhibit swarming of Proteus spp.

We can either increase the concentration of agar (2.5-3.0% w/v) or incorporate growth inhibitors like chloral hydrate (1 in 500), sodium azide (1 in 5000), boric acid (1 in 100) and sulphonamide.

Use of these chemicals may inhibit the growth of other pathogenic bacteria too but p- nitrophenylglycerol is an exceptional agent that inhibits the swarming of Proteus spp without affecting the growth of even delicate organisms. It is incorporated at low concentrations in the medium (0.2-0.4 mM in plates requiring overnight incubation or 1 mM in those requiring 72 hours of incubation).

Swarming of Proteus spp can also be inhibited on media like MacConkey agar and Deoxycholate citrate agar (DCA) which contains bile salts that inhibit the swarming in the medium and on Cystiene lactose electrolyte deficient (CLED) agar, the medium which is deficient in electrolytes also prevent swarming of Proteus spp.

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