Location: Mosquito and Fly Research
Project Number: 6036-32000-050-090-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Mar 1, 2019
End Date: Aug 30, 2019
Objective:
To test new mosquito and fly repellent, inhibitor and control products, and
application strategies such as assessing the efficacy of perimeter treatments of
residual pesticides and ultra-low-volume (ULV) applications of other insecticides to control Culex tarsalis adults and filth flies in a desert environment.
Approach:
Weather stations will be established in the study area to closely monitor
environmental parameters. In initial studies, suitable field sites within these
habitats will be selected for small and large scale experimental plots consisting of organic military materials protected with novel mosquito inhibitors and natural plants treated with residual pesticides. Mosquito populations will be monitored with C02 - baited traps and human landing counts (when IRB approvals are obtained). Bioassays will be conducted to determine the longevity of the spray applications and the breakdown products of the insecticides. Periodically during the project, samples of materials and vegetation will be collected and shipped to USDA-Agriculture Research Service Mosquito and Fly Research Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (MFRU-CMAVE) in Gainesville, Florida, for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis to determine the amount of residual pesticide on the vegetation. Appropriate statistical methods will be
applied. To achieve small droplet size, future studies will be made with specialized ground and aerial ultra-low-volume (ULV) application equipment. Insecticides will be applied in a concentrated form or technical grade and at very low volumes such as 1 oz per acre. Typically, aerial applications produce insecticide spray droplets of 30 to 50 microns measured as mass median diameter (MMD), with <2.5% of the droplets exceeding 100 microns. Ground ultra-low-volume (ULV) applicators produce droplets of 8 to 30 microns, with no droplets >50 microns MMD. Droplets will be collected on rotating teflon-coated glass slides and measured. Adult mosquito mortality will be measured primarily with the use of caged mosquitoes positioned at varying distances from the insecticide release point. Other new repellent and control products such as spatial inhibitors intended for use in military tents are being developed by the Deployed Warfighter Protection (DWFP) program in CMAVE and will be tested in this cooperative research project. Novel larval bio-control compounds are being developed and formulated for future testing. An overarching goal is to assess the efficacy and longevity of new mosquito control products in a desert environment under hot, dry, dusty, windy, and strong sunlight and high ultraviolet (UV) conditions.
