Mosquito Control

Abstract

THE Report for 1930 of the British Mosquito Control Institute, Hayling Island, Hampshire, is a record of two and a half years' work, the previous Report having been presented in June 1928. The Institute, it may be added, was built and equipped in 1925 by Mr. John F. Marshall, who has since occupied the position as director without remuneration. It was incorporated by licence of the Board of Trade in February 1927 and, by a deed executed at the same time, the building and its equipment were leased to trustees for a term of years. No financial aid is received from any official funds, and the income of the Institute is derived solely from the results of its own activities and from subscriptions and donations. Funds are greatly needed in order to enable the work to become more self-supporting, since the present income falls a long way short of covering expenditure. The activities of the Institute have markedly increased since the issue of the last Report, and the interest shown by the outside public in this work is borne out by the fact that more than 1400 visitors (scientific and others) inspected the museum and laboratory during 1930. Advisory work relating to mosquitoes, their identification and control, is carried out by means of inspection and by correspondence. Inspections are generally undertaken by the director's assistant at a pre-arranged charge which includes the submission of a report and the recommendation of remedial measures. Various ’lines of investigation have been carried out during the period under review, including tests of fly-killing preparations and of cresol-containing larvicides, at the request of commercial firms. A study has also been commenced with regard to the breeding of arboreal mosquitoes in cavities (natural and artificial) in sawn-off parts of trees of different species.