The effect of combined use of Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus™ trap and insecticide treated net on human biting rates of Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Culex quinquefasciatus

Abstract

Malaria is the most important public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is a pressing need for development and use of alternative control approaches, which will remain effective even with increasing threat of mosquito resistance to chemical control and smaller number of approved chemical insecticides. This study evaluated the effect of combined use of attractant baited Mosquito Magnet Liberty Plus™ (MM) trap and bed nets on human mosquito biting rates under semi-field conditions. Human landing catch done under holed bednets was used to assess the number of biting mosquitoes attracted to human bait. A combination of MM trap and untreated bednet reduced biting rates of Culex qunquefascatus but not Anopheles gambae s.s. However, combining an insecticide treated bednet (ITN) and MM trap greatly reduced biting rates of both Cx qunquefascatus and An. gambae s.s. Moreover, a treated bednet increased the MM trap catch of both Cx qunquefascatus and An. gambae s.s. The present study has shown the potential of a combination of MM trap and ITN in trapping and controlling vectors of malaria and lymphatic filariasis. Synergistic use of attractant baited traps and ITNs displays a 'push-pull' phenomenon. The findings indicate that the strategy could be incorporated in an integrated mosquito control approach to maximise the efficiency of mosquito populationreduction methods through the use of appropriately selected methods. ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Carbon dioxide baited trap catches do not correlate with human landing collections of Anopheles aquasalis in Suriname

“…The advantage of the MM-Plus over the CDC light trap and the BG-Sentinel trap is its functional longevity. It can function for weeks without needing new batteries or additional propane and may in time even be used as a tool in the integrated mosquito control rather than for mosquito monitoring (Kitau et al 2009). …”

Is there an efficient trap or collection method for sampling Anopheles darlingi and other malaria vectors that can describe the essential parameters affecting transmission dynamics as effectively as human landing catches? - A Review

“…Some contemporary models of Mosquito Magnet ® use CO 2 + octenol as a synergic attractant ( Takken & Kline 1989 , Kline et al 1991 ). The advantage of the Mosquito Magnet ® over the CDC light trap and the BG-Sentinel ® is its functional longevity because it can function for weeks without batteries or propane replacement ( Davis et al 1995 , Schmied et al 2008 , Kitau et al 2009 ).…”

Can Mosquito Magnet® substitute for human-landing catches to sample anopheline populations?

“…Although it has been shown that the traps can be used for mosquito control and routine surveillance, the MM traps are marketed for the control of blood-seeking insects in residential areas (mosquitomagnet.com), although the traps have shown that can be used for mosquito control and routine surveillance (Pucci et al 2003, Brown et al 2008, Xu et al 2008, Kitau et al 2009. The MM trap is battery operated and utilises CO 2 , one of the products of the catalysis of propane gas, as an attractant (Kline 1999).…”

“…The MM trap is battery operated and utilises CO 2 , one of the products of the catalysis of propane gas, as an attractant (Kline 1999). In addition, other attractants, such as octenol and L-lactic acid, have been evaluated (Pucci et al 2003, Cileck & Hallmon 2005, Kitau et al 2009, Dusfour et al 2010.…”

“…To quantify the efficiency of the MMLP trap catches compared with the HLC method, ratios were calculated by dividing the log-transformed nightly (n = 15) mean catches in the MMLP traps by the mean of the HLCs for each of the two most abundant species and for the total Kitau et al (2009) showed that the use of MMLP combined with insecticide-treated nets significantly reduced the biting rates of Culex quinquefasciatus Say and Anopheles gambiae Giles s.s. in Tanzania. In contrast, Henderson et al (2006) could not demonstrate that the continuous operation of the Mosquito Magnet Pro Model in urban and rural areas of Manitoba, Canada, significantly reduced the activity of Aedes vexans (Meigen), Ochlerotatus sticticus (Meigen) and Coquillettidia perturbans (Walker).…”