Insecticide application for vector control is the most controversial component of a public health program due to concerns about environmental and human health safety. One approach to overcome this challenge is the use of environmentally benign active ingredients. Among the most promising emerging strategies are attractive toxic sugar baits. Sugar alcohols—naturally occurring molecules safe for human consumption but potentially toxic to insects when ingested, have received increased attention for use with this approach. For this study, we screened the toxicity of four different sugar alcohols on several mosquito species, a biting midge, and a filth fly. Sugar alcohol mortalities exceeded those in the sucrose (positive control) only group. However, only erythritol and highly concentrated xylitol induced mortalities exceeding those in the water only (negative control) treatment ranging from approximately 40–75%. Formulations containing erythritol and xylitol should be further investigated under field conditions for efficacy in reducing populations of biting flies and for assessing potential non-target impacts.
The western tree hole mosquito, Aedes sierrensis (Ludlow), is a common nuisance mosquito and vector of Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy), the etiologic agent of dog heartworm, in western North America. Here, we compare weekly mosquito collections made with Mosquito Magnet (MM) traps, Biogents Sentinel (BGS) traps, and Biogents Bowl (BGS Bowl) traps set in Salt Lake City, UT, from the start of June to mid-August 2017. We found the number of mosquitoes decreased with rainfall and temperature independently of trap type. The highest number of mosquitoes were caught by BGS traps baited with carbon dioxide (CO2) and BG lure, which collected 62% (n = 422) of all mosquitoes, followed by the MM at 31% (n = 213), and both the BGS and BG Bowl with BG lure had 3.5% (n = 24) each. Aedes sierrensis females were caught weekly at similar densities (mean ± SD) in BGS with CO2 and lure (1.17 ± 2.93) and the MM (1.17 ± 2.66) traps during the study period. Given that BGS with CO2 and lure traps have several operational advantages over MM traps, including a quicker setup, smaller size, and lower cost, we consider BGS with CO2 and lure traps as the best suited surveillance tool to detect and remove Ae. sierrensis in the western United States and similar settings throughout North America.
Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are emerging across the globe in a broad range of urbanized, rural, and natural environments inhabited by their vector species. Because applications of insecticides remain the most effective, and often the only available tool to prevent or control mosquito‐borne disease outbreaks, their use and scope continue to expand. However, the effects of multiple insecticide applications targeting adult mosquitoes on nontarget insect communities remain poorly characterized. To remedy this knowledge gap, we conducted an evaluation of five aerial insecticide applications on insect communities in a natural environment near Salt Lake City, Utah. Employing a before–after–control–impact approach, we assessed abundance and community composition changes over the study period utilizing Bayesian and community ecology analytical methods. We observed no discernible effects on most insect taxa, and there were no changes in the overall insect community composition. The abundance of Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera declined in control and treatment sites, Odonata increased over the period of the study, and Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera remained similar, suggesting seasonal trends rather than treatment effects. The only consistently detectable treatment effect was on nonbiting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae), that are closely related to mosquitoes taxonomically and have similar body size and diel activity. Midge abundance declined by 79.9% (95% credible interval: 58.4–91.9). Overall posttreatment abundance decline of 62.2% (95% credible interval: 22.5–87.8) was also detected for leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), but, these declines were inconsistent and may be attributed to natural variability rather than the treatment effect. Treatment frequency, location, life‐stage targeting, and application techniques may mitigate the effects of mosquito control on nontarget insects to allow protecting human health while limiting environmental impacts.
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