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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #220046
Title: Field evaluation of boric acid and fipronil based bait stations against adult mosquitoes

Author
item XUE, RUE-DE - ANASTASIA MOSQ CNTRL
item ALI, ARSHAD - UNIV OF FLORIDA
item Kline, Daniel - Dan
item Barnard, Donald

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/12/2008
Publication Date: 9/1/2008
Citation: Xue, R., Ali, A., Kline, D.L., Barnard, D.R. 2008. Field evaluation of boric acid and fipronil based bait stations against adult mosquitoes. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 24:415-418.

Interpretive Summary: Public concern over the spread of disease by mosquitoes has increased because of the West Nile virus epidemic in the U.S. One way to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne disease agents to animals and humans is to develop controls that augment/replace synthetic chemical pesticides. In this study, scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL and the University of Florida determined that feeding stations containing boric acid or an insecticide (fipronil) in a sugar bait solution effectively reduced adult mosquito landing rates on a human subject in cages but not the numbers of mosquitoes collected in traps placed near human domiciles. Bait stations are desirable for mosquito control because they provide a controlled point-source for the release of toxicant. As this study shows, however, additional work is needed to determine the optimal number of stations to use and how to most effectively locate stations in the residential setting.

Technical Abstract: The effectiveness of boric acid (1%) and fipronil (0.1%) bait stations in reducing the number of laboratory-reared female Aedes aegypti and Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus mosquitoes released in outdoor screened cages was evaluated. Both toxicants reduced landing rates of the two mosquito species on a human subject. However, no significant reduction in the number of adult mosquitoes caught by counterflow geometry (CFG) traps baited with CO2 was observed in the boric acid- and fipronil-treated cages compared with the control cage. The two bait station configurations were evaluated against natural populations of adult mosquitoes in three residential yards (each ca. 0.8 ha) in St. Johns County, Florida, USA. Neither configuration reduced the number of female mosquitoes landing on a human subject and there was no difference in the capture rates of mosquitoes by the CFG traps in bait-treated and control experimental yards. Additional research is needed to determine the optimal density and placement of bait stations in order to maximize their utility in adult mosquito control programs.