Location: Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-32000-012-010-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 15, 2016
End Date: Jul 14, 2021
Objective:
The Phase I objectives are planned to optimize development of ‘attract and kill’ baits. The key elements of Phase I objectives are delivery of attractants, delivery of toxicants and formulation of ‘attract and kill’ active ingredients. Ultimately, efficacy of this formulation will be evaluated in semi-field conditions where population surveys of mosquitoes are updated annually.
Approach:
To develop ‘attract and kill’ baits, the research team will evaluate known attractants, novel invented attractants, and small bait designs in semi-field conditions. This approach will emphasize use of attractants for ‘attract and kill’ rather than for trapping or monitoring mosquito vectors. The ideal ‘attract and kill’ bait we will generate will have a preferred formulation of active ingredients in a solid state. One industrial collaborator (OneWorld Biotech) will assist us in large-scale production of ‘attract and kill’ formulation, while the other (Biogents, AG) will assist us in bait design. The release rate and environmental stability evaluation of the attractant component will be crucial for developing the successful bait. At present there are numerous commercially available ‘attract and kill’ devices\baits for household insects, like ants, roaches, fleas, and house-flies. There are currently no effective baits for blood sucking arthropod vectors. Using our expertise in semiochemistry of insects, the key goal under this objective is to develop effective and commercially viable ‘attract and kill’ baits for mosquito vectors. Ultimately, the traps designed to contain the bait will be important as any design must avoid capture or negative effects upon non-target and/or beneficial insects and pollinators.
