A New, Cost-Effective, Battery-Powered Aspirator for Adult Mosquito Collections

Abstract

We report the development of a new mosquito aspirator with the same aspiration capacity (airflow) of the CDC Backpack Aspirator (CDC-BP), but smaller and lighter (0.8 kg without battery), less expensive (US$45–70), easier to build, and compatible with the use of telescoping extension poles to access hard-to-reach locations. The performance of this new aspirator, named “Prokopack,” was compared with the CDC-BP in laboratory settings as well as in paired collections in combined sewer overflow (CSO) tunnels in Atlanta, GA, and indoor mosquito collections in Iquitos, Peru. The difference in suction power between both aspirators (average, 0.29–0.43 m/s) was negligible. However, 2.3 times more mosquitoes were collected using the Prokopack in the upper wall (> 1.5 m) and ceilings of CSO tunnels than with the CDC-BP in lower walls. Indoor collection in Iquitos yielded significantly more total mosquito numbers [including Culex pipiens complex, Culex (melanoconion) sp., and Mansonia sp.] and Aedes aegypti (L.) in the Prokopack than in the CDC-BP. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the Prokopack to collect different mosquito species in different epidemiological settings.

Spatial Clustering of Aedes aegypti Related to Breeding Container Characteristics in Coastal Ecuador: Implications for Dengue Control

“…Adult mosquitoes were collected with a Prokopak backpack aspirator, 15 both inside and immediately outside of houses, focusing on important resting areas, such as walls, the underside of beds, and the underside of house floors. Aspiration was conducted in all rooms of houses.…”

Impact of a Spatial Repellent on Malaria Incidence in Two Villages in Sumba, Indonesia

“…Sampling was conducted using a modified Prokopack handheld aspirator. 34 Additionally, to capture blood-fed mosquitoes, a wooden "resting box" fitted with a black cloth lining was placed outdoors of each sampled house within a standard 10 m distance from the exterior walls and in a location with high probability for vector refuge. All captured resting mosquitoes were placed in labeled containers and returned to the laboratory for identification and processing for bloodmeal analysis.…”

Field Sampling Rate of BG-Sentinel Traps for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Suburban Cairns, Australia

“…They are also needed for guiding novel intervention strategies that involve large releases of modiÞed or Wolbachia-transinfected mosquitoes into the Þeld (e.g., Sinkins andOÕNeill 2000, Cook et al 2008). Such measurements have traditionally relied on sampling larval and pupal populations, (e.g., Focks et al 2000) and few tools are available that provide a direct sample of adult mosquitoes, for example, sticky ovitraps (Ritchie et al 2004) and backpack aspirators (Clark et al 1994, Vazquez-Prokopec et al 2009). …”