visualizing-efficacy-pesticides-against-disease-vector-mosquitoes

Visualizing Efficacy of Pesticides Against Disease Vector Mosquitoes in the Field

Efficacy of public health pesticides targeting nuisance and disease-vector insects such as mosquitoes, sand flies, and filth-breeding flies is not uniform ...

preparing-irradiated-marked-male-aedes-aegypti-mosquitoes-for-release

Preparing Irradiated and Marked Male <em>Aedes aegypti</em> Mosquitoes for Release in an Operational Sterile Insect Technique Program

The control of such human diseases as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya relies on the control of their vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, because there is no ...

United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Agricultural, & Veterinary Entomology

Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Agricultural, & Veterinary Entomology

The current Department of Defense pest management system does not provide adequate protection from arthropod disease vectors to personnel deployed in support of US military operations. We hypothesized that military camouflage netting, ubiquitous around living and working areas in current US military operations in Africa and the Middle East, treated with a residual pesticide such as bifenthrin may reduce the presence of biting insects and improve the military pest management system. In this study, we examined the longevity and efficacy of bifenthrin applied to camouflage netting material at the maximum label rate of 0.03 liter formulation (7.9% AI) per 92.9 m2 against field populations of mosquitoes in southern California in a hot-arid environment similar to regions of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. We showed that bifenthrin treatment of camouflage netting was effective at reducing mosquito populations, predominantly Psorophora columbiae and Aedes vexans, by an average of up to 46% for 56 days, and could cause as much as 40% mortality in Culex quinquefasciatus in laboratory bioassays for nearly 2 months postapplication. These population reductions could translate to commensurate reductions in risk of exposure to mosquito-borne pathogens, and could potentially be effective against sand flies and filth flies.

Longevity and efficacy of bifenthrin treatment on desert-pattern US military camouflage netting against mosquitoes in a hot-arid environment.

We describe an innovative aspirator gun designed to transfer individual anesthetized mosquitoes directly into glass bioassay tubes. The gun has been used for thousands of transfers with extremely low associated mortality and is the central component of a high-throughput bioassay system. The gun is constructed using readily obtainable materials and can be modified for a range of insects.

Aspirator gun for high-throughput mosquito bioassays.

A high-throughput bioassay system to evaluate the efficacy of residual pesticides against mosquitoes and muscid flies with minimal insect handling was developed. The system consisted of 4 components made of readily available materials: 1) a CO2 anaesthetizing chamber, 2) a specialized aspirator, 3) a cylindrical flat-bottomed glass bioassay chamber assembly, and 4) a customized rack.

High-throughput mosquito and fly bioassay system for natural and artificial substrates treated with residual insecticides.

Multiple field studies conducted for the Deployed War-Fighter Protection (DWFP) research program have generated more than 80 specific guidance points for innovative combinations of pesticide application equipment, pesticide formulations, and application techniques for aerosol and residual pesticide treatments in 6 ecological regions against a range of mosquito, sand fly, and filth fly nuisance and disease-vector threats. To synthesize and operationalize these DWFP field and laboratory efficacy data we developed an interactive iOS and Android mobile software application, the Pesticide App, consisting of specific pesticide application guidance organized by environment and target insect vector species. 

A mobile app for military operational entomology pesticide applications.

Filth fly control measures may be optimized with a better understanding of fly population dynamics measured throughout the day. We describe the modification of a commercial motorized sequential mosquito trap to accept liquid odorous bait and leverage a classic inverted-cone design to passively confine flies in 8 modified collection bottles corresponding to 8 intervals. Efficacy trials in a hot-arid desert environment indicate no significant difference (P  =  0.896) between the modified sequential trap and a Rid-Max® fly trap. 

Passive Baited Sequential Filth Fly Trap.

Concentrations of malathion and permethrin typical in droplets generated from ultra-low-volume and low-volume applications used to control mosquito populations were evaluated for efficacy against multiple-aged Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae), using a topical bioassay. Although insecticide droplets will impinge on many exoskeletal body regions and a range of ages of mosquitoes in a population, traditional mosquito topical bioassays focus pesticide application to the mesothoracic pleural or dorsal regions across an average mosquito age (e.g., 3-7 d). Our results document nonuniform insecticide sensitivity across body regions at ages not previously assessed in mosquitoes (teneral and 14-d old). We expect our findings to influence the topical bioassay process, illustrating the difference in mosquito body regions and ages that ultimately may explain insecticide effectiveness wherever droplets impinge upon the mosquito body during field control applications.

Application Site and Mosquito Age Influences Malathion- and Permethrin-Induced Mortality in Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae).

We conducted aerial fixed wing ultra low volume (ULV) spray trials with naled to investigate penetration of exposed and simulated cryptic habitat within opened buildings, partially sealed buildings, and outdoor locations targeting sentinel adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in north central Florida. Mortality was observed in open and closed buildings and outdoors, even in mosquitoes placed in cryptic habitats. Observations on the impact of building type, mosquito exposure method such as placement in cryptic habitat, and spray nozzle size on mosquito mortality are described and analyzed.

Aerial ULV control of Aedes aegypti with naled (Dibrom) inside simulated rural village and urban cryptic habitats.

United States military personnel deployed in austere hot-arid, temperate, and tropical conditions in remote locations worldwide rely on the Department of Defense (DoD) Pest Management System measures such as application of pesticide residual and ultra-low-volume or thermal fog treatments for protection from routine exposure to nuisance and disease-vector insects. Timed pesticide misting systems originally developed for residential outdoor use show promise as potential enhancements to standard DoD Pest Management System measures, in particular to protect perimeters surrounding US military field encampments. To investigate the capabilities of misting systems in remote locations in diverse environments, this technical engineering report describes the development of 2 key modifications to a commercial residential misting system to enable us to operate the system away from a standard power grid, and to safely operate the system with small volumes of a variety of pesticide misting formulations. The components needed to modify the commercial misting system include the following: 5,000-W inverter, 12-V 100 Ah battery, 24-gal tote, solar panel with charge controller, 18 in. (45.7 cm) 0-gauge wire with ½-in. (1.27-cm) eyebolt connectors, 5-gal container (wide mouthed), ½-in.-to-½-in. connector, ½-in. tubing, ⅜-in.-to-⅜-in. connector, ⅜-in. tubing, ¼-in.-to-¼-in. connector, ¼-in. flexible tubing, securable patio box (80 gal), 5-gal (18.9-liter) bucket (modified), and a canning funnel.

Robert L. Aldridge

Mosquito & Fly Research Unit

United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Agricultural, & Veterinary Entomology

Visualizing Efficacy of Pesticides Against Disease Vector Mosquitoes in the Field

Preparing Irradiated and Marked Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes for Release in an Operational Sterile Insect Technique Program

Robert L. Aldridge

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Mosquito & Fly Research Unit

United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Center for Medical, Agricultural, & Veterinary Entomology

Visualizing Efficacy of Pesticides Against Disease Vector Mosquitoes in the Field

Preparing Irradiated and Marked Male Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes for Release in an Operational Sterile Insect Technique Program

Mosquito & Fly Research Unit