Characteristics and Efficacy of Three Commercial Handheld Thermal Foggers with Pyrethroid Insecticides Against Three Species of Mosquitoes.

The field study's objectives were to compare the physical characteristics as well as efficacy with multiple insecticides for Bonide(®) Fog Rx Insect Fogger, Black Flag(®) Propane Insect Fogger, and Burgess(®) Outdoor Propane Insect Fogger. Evaluations were conducted with 7 machine chemical combinations, 3 depths of spray, and 3 species of laboratory-reared mosquitoes, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Aedes aegypti. Combinations of these factors were analyzed in conjunction with environmental parameters. Data showed statistical significance between all machines. The Bonide machine maintained integrity and durability for the longest period of time compared with the other 2 machines. When evaluating the 3 machines with DUET™, mortality was highest with the Bonide and lowest with the Burgess machine.

Evaluation of Three Commercial Backpack Sprayers with Aqualuer® 20-20 Against Caged Adult Aedes Aegypti.

Three commercially available backpack sprayers were evaluated with Aqualuer® 20-20 (20.6% permethrin, active ingredient; 20.6% piperonyl butoxide, technical) against caged adult Aedes aegypti in semifield trials in northeastern Florida. Two battery-powered sprayers, Birchmeier and Hudson, were compared with the standard hand-pump SOLO 425 sprayer, which is currently used in pest management operations. Physical characteristics, droplet analysis, and overall ease of use were documented. Multiple dilutions of the insecticide were also evaluated. The results indicated that the Birchmeier sprayer was the preferable machine in terms of its physical characteristics and operator use. There was no significant difference in percent mortality of the test mosquitoes between the sprayers. Multiple dilutions ranging from 1:9 to 1:1050 of the insecticide resulted in greater than 80% mean mortality.

Field evaluation of the Off! Clip-on Mosquito Repellent (metofluthrin) against Aedes albopictus and Aedes taeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae) in northeastern Florida.

Repellent efficacy of the Off! Clip-on Mosquito Repellent device (S. C. Johnson and Son, Inc., Racine, WI) containing Metofluthrin was evaluated on six human volunteers against the container-breeding mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and the salt marsh mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus (Wiedemann) at two field locations in northeastern Florida. The device repelled mosquitoes by releasing a vaporized form of the pyrethroid insecticide metofluthrin ([AI] 31.2%) and provided 70% protection from Ae. albopictus bites for > 3 h. For the second field trial, a repellent device that was used in the first trial was tested after being open for >1 wk. This device provided 79% protection from Ae. taeniorhynchus bites for 3 h. Our field results showed that the repellent device was 70 and 79% effective at repelling Ae. albopictus and Ae. taeniorhynchus from human test subjects in both field locations in northeastern Florida.

Population Outbreaks of Mosquitoes After Hurricanes Matthew and Irma and the Control Efforts in St. Johns County, Northeastern Florida.

Major flooding occurred throughout St. John's County, FL, from Hurricane Matthew on October 8, 2016, and Hurricane Irma on September 11, 2017. The flooding caused mosquito population outbreaks in the middle of October in 2016 and September in 2017. Due to the mosquito population outbreaks, Anastasia Mosquito Control District (AMCD) received >3,500 service requests countywide in October 2016 and ≥1,400 service requests in September 2017. During the response to the mosquito population outbreaks caused by the hurricanes, AMCD collaborated with the Emergency Operations Center, Department of Health of St. Johns County, and local media, including television stations, newspapers, and radio stations for public outreach. The AMCD also employed contractors for aerial adulticiding and used every possible resource to successfully control the outbreaks of mosquitoes using both ground and aerial applications.