ARS | Publication request: Traps and trapping techniques for adult mosquito control

Submitted to: American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 15, 2006
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Citation: Kline, D.L. 2006. Traps and trapping techniques for adult mosquito control. American Mosquito Control Association. 22(3):490-496.

Interpretive Summary: A major emphasis of current pest management research by scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL, is the development of selective, environmentally friendly methods of control. Mosquito control research is no exception. Success will depend upon the development of efficient trapping technology, effective attractants and strategic placement of these baited traps for maximum impact on the target population. The present work was undertaken as part of an ongoing effort to develop and evaluate novel trapping technologies. Several studies were done using either attractant-baited traps or attractant-baited, insecticide-impregnated targets. The techniques were very successful when used on an isolated island dominated by a single mosquito species. Mixed results were achieved when the technique was used in several sites on the mainland.

Technical Abstract: An overview is presented of the recent advancements in research activities conducted to evaluate mosquito traps, insecticide-impregnated targets baited with combinations of attractants, and strategies for using mass trapping techniques for adult mosquito population management. Technologies that use semiochemicals (attractants), traps and targets, and mass trapping are relatively new for management of adult mosquito populations. To date, emphasis has been placed primarily on developing barriers of attractant-baited and insecticide-impregnated targets. The most successful continuous use of this type of technology has been at Stevens’ Landing, Collier County, Florida. Recently, commercially available traps have been evaluated for their ability to reduce nuisance populations of mosquitoes. Whereas use of Mosquito Magnet™ Pro (MM-Pro) traps along a nature trail on an isolated island (Atsena Otie) in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in a significant reduction in annoyance caused by the black salt-marsh mosquito, Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus (Wied.), a perimeter of the same traps did not result in the same level of mosquito reduction in a residential area in Gainesville, FL.