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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 #252033
Title: Control of Culex quinquefasciatus in a storm drain system in Florida with attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB)

Author
item MULLER, GUNTER - Hebrew University Of Jerusalem
item JUNNILA, AMY - Anastasia Mosquito Control District
item QUALLS, WHITNEY - Anastasia Mosquito Control District
item REVAY, EDITA - Technion Institute
item Kline, Daniel - Dan
item Allan, Sandra - Sandy
item SCHLEIN, YOSEF - Hebrew University
item XUE, RUI-DE - Anastasia Mosquito Control District

Submitted to: Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/13/2010
Publication Date: 12/15/2010
Citation: Muller, G.C., Junnila, A., Qualls, W., Revay, E.E., Kline, D.L., Allan, S.A., Schlein, Y., Xue, R. 2010. Control of Culex quinquefasciatus in a storm drain system in Florida with attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB). Medical and Veterinary Entomology. 24:346-351. DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2915.2010.00876.X.

Interpretive Summary: Attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB) were used to control mosquitoes in the storm drains of a new residential area in reclaimed marshland on the outskirts of St. Augustine, Florida. The drainage system was newly constructed with no mosquitoes breeding inside. The area covered by the storm drains was divided in half; 10 drains served as the control area and 16 drains as the experimental area. The baits, a mixture of brown sugar, fruit juice, green dye marker and boric acid were presented at the entrance to the 16 treated storm drains and exit traps were positioned over the opening of the drains and the connecting tubes leading to the retention ponds. Similar baits with orange dye marker and without toxin were presented at the entrance to the 10 control storm drains with the same exit trap configurations. In each control and toxin treated drain, 220 pupae of Cx. quinquefasciatus were released from containers and the number of recovered mosquitoes were examined to determine the effectiveness of ATSB in the storm drain system. From the control area, an average of 178.2 mosquitoes exited per drain, 87% of these fed on the baits and were stained orange while 13% were unstained. From the toxin treated drains, 83.7% of the hatched females and 86.6% of the males were controlled by the baits.

Technical Abstract: Mosquitoes of the Culex pipiens group, including Culex quinquefasciatus, are important vectors of West Nile virus and other viruses around the world. Control of these mosquitoes in urban areas is often difficult because of the use of storm drains and other man-made structures as larval habitats. In this study conducted collaboratively with a scientist at USDA’s Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology (CMAVE) in Gainesville (FL), attractive toxic sugar baits were used to examine use of baits and control of mosquitoes in a residential area in St. Augustine, Florida. High levels of mosquitoes from the drains fed on dyed sugar baits and over 80% of mosquitoes from treated drains were killed. This approach provides an effective targeted method of mosquito control from storm drains with minimal impact on non-target aquatic insects.