A comparison of seven traps used for collection of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti originating from a large tire repository in Harris County (Houston), Texas.

ABSTRACT

Among 7 traps tested, significantly higher (P < 0.01) mean numbers of Aedes albopictus (269) and Aedes aegypti (55) females were collected within the Mosquito Magnet Liberty trap compared with the remaining traps. The second highest mean captures for both species were obtained from omnidirectional Fay-Prince (77 Ae. albopictus) and Dragonfly (13 Ae. aegypti) traps, which were not significantly different (P > 0.01) from an experimental moving-target trap that produced mean captures of 40 Ae. albopictus and 6 Ae. aegypti (alpha = 0.01). In terms of Ae. albopictus capture, no significant differences (P > 0.01) existed between Dragonfly, CDC without light (CDC -), and CDC with light (CDC +) captures, which were significantly different (P < 0.01) from Mosquito Deleto. No statistical significance existed between moving-target, omnidirectional, CDC +, CDC -, and Mosquito Deleto traps in terms of Ae. aegypti capture (P > 0.01), individual trap positions, or number of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti females collected throughout the 21-day test (P > 0.05). Mosquito Magnet Liberty collected 7,208 Ae. albopictus, 1467 Ae. aegypti, and 13 other species representing 5 genera, which comprised the largest total (9662) and percentage (62.5%) of mosquitoes collected by all traps combined. Omnidirectional and moving-target traps captured 1941 and 1050 Ae. albopictus, 138 and 220 Ae. aegypti, and 2171 (14.0%) and 1397 (9.0%) of the total mosquitoes captured by all traps, with 8 and 10 species representing 5 genera, respectively, included in these collections. The Dragonfly captured 476 Ae. albopictus, 376 Ae. aegypti, and 1008 total specimens (6.5%) representing 8 species and 4 genera in these collections. CDC + and CDC - traps collected nearly identical numbers of Ae. albopictus (431, 450) and Ae. aegypti (71, 71) with 537 (3.4%) and 551 (3.5%) total specimens, respectively. Eight species representing 5 genera were captured from CDC +, whereas CDC - captured 6 species representing 4 genera. Mosquito Deleto captured 118 mosquitoes, including 19 Ae. albopictus and 62 Ae. aegypti females (0.7%), with 6 species representing 4 genera. Battery-powered traps with contrasting color schemes and movement worked considerably better than stationary CDC miniatures without color or movement. Omnidirectional Fay-Prince and moving-target traps without octenol captured Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti females as frequently as some commercial traps. Additionally, costs incurred per mosquito trapped, future trap design, and important consumer-centered issues are briefly discussed.