Design and implementation of a passive trap for monitoring and control of Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens: mosquitos of significant public health importance.
Supervisor
Gordon Hamilton, Division of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Lancaster University
Industry Partner - Russell IPM
Summary
Mosquito-borne arboviruses threaten a third of the world’s population and continue to expand due to human disturbance of natural ecosystems, the globalization of trade and travel and climate change. In the absence of effective vaccines or specific drugs against many of these diseases, e.g. Dengue, Chikungunya or Zika virus, chemical control of mosquitoes remains the most commonly deployed strategy to curb transmission. The environmental impacts and widespread resistance to insecticides undermine the effectiveness of chemical control and consequently new and more sustainable tools are required.
However, alternative control technologies that have been developed (e.g. mass release of sterile males) remain logistically complex, expensive and largely inaccessible to poor communities.
Mass trapping of mosquitoes has recently been shown to be highly effective in reducing biting and transmission of disease however the approach is still limited by an excessive reliance on expensive “active-trapping” equipment.
The aim of this project therefore is to develop alternative passive trapping technology that is low-cost and environmentally low-impact for control of two globally important mosquito species: Aedes aegypti (vector of arboviruses including Dengue) and Culex pipiens (a significant global vector and biting nuisance).
Specific objectives:
1) Design and test a novel sugar baited trap(s) for our target mosquito species in both laboratory and field trials for commercial availability at the end of the project.
2) Incorporate a lethal component within the trap and evaluate its effect on wild mosquito populations.
3) Evaluate enhanced attractiveness of the trap when volatile host odour and/or floral odours is added, to achieve faster and greater impact.