Abstract
The intensifying expansion of arboviruses highlights the need for effective invasive Aedes control. While mass-trapping interventions have long been discredited as inefficient compared to insecticide applications, increasing levels of insecticide resistance, and the development of simple affordable traps that target and kill gravid female mosquitoes, show great promise. We summarize the methodologies and outcomes of recent lethal oviposition trap-based mass interventions for suppression of urban Aedes and their associated diseases. The evidence supports the recommendation of mass deployments of oviposition traps to suppress populations of invasive Aedes, although better measures of the effects on disease control are needed. Strategies associated with successful mass-trap deployments include: (1) high coverage (>80%) of the residential areas; (2) pre-intervention and/or parallel source reduction campaigns; (3) direct involvement of community members for economic long-term sustainability; and (4) use of new-generation larger traps (Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap, AGO; Gravid Aedes Trap, GAT) to outcompete remaining water-holding containers. While to the best of our knowledge all published studies so far have been on Ae. aegypti in resource-poor or tropical settings, we propose that mass deployment of lethal oviposition traps can be used for focused cost-effective control of temperate Ae. albopictus pre-empting arboviral epidemics and increasing participation of residents in urban mosquito control.
Highlights
The continued global scourge of mosquito-borne dengue fever [1], the recent emergence and explosive spread of chikungunya around the world [2], of Zika fever in South and Central America and, most importantly, its association with fetal microcephaly [3], have provided renewed impetus for the development of effective urban mosquito control
Insects 2017, 8, 5 large scale needed for eradication, a viable aim when addressing invasive species limited by their association to humans and human-modified environments [11,12]
A standard approach in pest control is to exploit “weak links”, critical needs of the pest that may be targeted for control [13], such as the characteristic behavior of urban Aedes females to lay eggs in artificial water-holding containers [14,15,16]
Summary
The continued global scourge of mosquito-borne dengue fever [1], the recent emergence and explosive spread of chikungunya around the world [2], of Zika fever in South and Central America and, most importantly, its association with fetal microcephaly [3], have provided renewed impetus for the development of effective urban mosquito control. Likely a consequence of the high container turnover rate, as well as the need to avoid high-competition environments for the immature, female Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus are “bet-hedgers” that employ strategies to minimize the risk of total reproductive failure, or the loss of all eggs, over space and time by laying their eggs among several oviposition sources [25,26] This “skip-oviposition” strategy [27,28] means the attractiveness of the trap relative to alternative water-holding containers is critical for control effectiveness.
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