ARS | Publication request: Efficacy of Barrier Treatments on Natural Populations of Mosquitoes in Desert Habitats of California

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 5, 2009
Publication Date: April 5, 2009
Citation: Linthicum, K., Britch, S.C., Walker, T.W., Lothrop, B.B., Snelling, M., Gutierrez, A., Farooq, M., Smith, V.L., Robinson, C.A., Lothrop, H.D., Wynn, W.W., Dunford, J. 2009. Efficacy of Barrier Treatments on Natural Populations of Mosquitoes in Desert Habitats of California. Presented at the American Mosquito Control Association 2009 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA on April 5-9, 2009.

Technical Abstract: Treating perimeters with residual insecticides to provide protection from mosquito vectors has shown promise. These barrier treatments are typically evaluated in temperate or tropical areas using lush, ambient vegetation as a substrate for the pesticide. However, there is an emerging interest to develop this technology to protect deployed US troops in extreme desert environments with sparse or no vegetation. We used large remote desert areas in the Coachella Valley, CA, to evaluate bifenthrin barrier treatments under field conditions of heat, dust, and low humidity on plots of (1) native xeric vegetation using 2 spray technologies, an electrostatic and a back-pack sprayer, and (2) on artificial barriers formed by Department of Defense camouflage screening using a back-pack sprayer. We found that mosquito collections of naturally occurring populations in treated plots was significantly lower than the catch in control plots for multiple weeks after treatment. This reduction in mosquito numbers in treated plots declined at a predictable rate each week after treatment. These field data were corroborated by results from bioassays in the lab which showed significantly higher mosquito mortality on treated materials as compared to untreated vegetation for multiple weeks post-spray.