Selective use of odour‐baited, insecticide‐treated targets to control tsetse flies Glossina austeni and G. brevipalpis in South Africa

Abstract

The effectiveness of odour-baited targets treated with 0.8% deltamethrin in controlling Glossina austeni Newstead and G. brevipalpis Newstead (Diptera: Glossinidae) was evaluated in Zululand, South Africa. Targets were initially deployed in the three habitat types (grassland, woodland and forest) of two adjacent areas at a density of four targets per km(2). One area functioned as the treatment block (c. 35 km(2)) and included the focus of the target deployment, and the second area functioned as a barrier block (c. 40 km(2)) against tsetse fly re-invasion from the untreated area to the south. After 8 months, targets were removed from open grassland in both areas and target density in wooded habitats and sand forest was increased to eight per km(2). Twelve months later, all targets were removed from the barrier block and used to increase target density in the wooded and sand forest habitats of the treatment block to 12 per km(2). This target density was maintained for 14 months. In the treatment area, a 99% reduction in G. austeni females occurred after 13 months at a target density of eight per km(2) in wooded habitat; this was maintained for 22 months. Reduction in G. brevipalpis was less marked. The relatively poor reduction in G. brevipalpis is attributed to the high mobility of this species and its distribution throughout less wooded and more open habitats.

Improving the Cost-Effectiveness of Visual Devices for the Control of Riverine Tsetse Flies, the Major Vectors of Human African Trypanosomiasis

“…For example, the tiny targets can be carried in a backpack and deployed rapidly by a single person. Second, while large targets and their associated doses of insecticide have been shown to have little impact on ecology [29] and to be unobtrusive in national parks [30], the small targets could be expected to be even better in both these respects. A potential problem for small targets is that they may be easily obscured by vegetation which may reduce their efficiency.…”

The finite element implementation of a K.P.P. equation for the simulation of tsetse control measures in the vicinity of a game reserve

“…That ESTERHUIZEN ET AL. [7] were simply not able to measure the target-related mortality of G. brevipalpis, owing to high diffusion rates, is an alternative conclusion.…”

“…The definitive experimental work involving target barriers for G. austeni and G. brevipalpis is that of ESTERHUIZEN, KAPPMEIER GREEN, NEVILL and VAN DEN BOSSCHE [7]. Essentially they barricaded a small peninsula with targets.…”

A look into the Medical and Veterinary Entomology crystal ball

“…One approach is to restrict insecticide application by using insecticide‐treated odour‐baited targets (autocidal traps), a method that has shown some promise for the control of blow flies (Wall & Smith, ), tsetse flies (Esterhuizen et al. , ), midges (Carpenter et al. , ) and Aedes mosquitoes (Rapley et al.…”