Evaluation of a new variant of the BG-Sentinel mosquito trap to monitor disease-vector mosquitoes

FABIO GUIDOBALDI, E. FAVOTTI, V. JORDANN, M. P. CAMPOS SOLDINI, F. VITTAR, G. MARTÍNEZ-BORDA, N. BURRONI, L. GRANCELLI, A. ROSE AND P. GUERENSTEIN

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Congreso; Congreso Latinoamericano de Ecología Química; 2010

Asociación Latinoamericana de Ecología Química, ALAEQ

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is a vector of Dengue. Monitoring of mosquitoes in the field is an important aspect of an efficient disease-control strategy. Mosquito-monitoring methods include egg-sampling using ‘ovitraps’ and adult-sampling using adult-traps. In recent years, a novel adult-trap (BG-SentinelTM, Biogents AG, Regensburg) had been developed that has since proven to be especially attractive for A. aegypti and related species, when compared to other traps. The BG-Sentinel produces an upward air current and artificial human skin odors given off from a dispenser (BG-LureTM). This lure does not require CO2, a mosquito attractant, which is impractical or expensive for field use. The aim of this work was the evaluation of a new, improved and more cost-efficient variant of the BG-Sentinel, named the MosquititoTM. To test the efficiency of Mosquitito, two positive controls were used: the BG-Sentinel and the MosquitaireTM, another and more rugged plastic version of the trap. All three trap types used the BG-Lure. For testing, one trap of each type (3 in total) was placed in an urban house garden in Diamante, Entre Rios, Argentina, and the mosquitoes captured by each type was recorded. Experiments were carried out in parallel in two different gardens, and the position of the traps was rotated after each sampling day. Ovitraps previously distributed all over the town had indicated a maximal density of A. aegypti eggs near the gardens used. Preliminary data indicate that Mosquitito was the most efficient trap. This device caught 63 % of a total of 960 mosquitoes trapped while the others trapped less than 20 % each. However, only less than 3% of the total mosquitoes trapped were A. aegypti. The low A. aegypti capture rate could be due to different reasons, including the timing of the sampling time window (i.e., the end of the mosquito season).