title: Boric acid bait kills adult mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae).
abstract: The toxicity of boric acid solutions to adult Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say, Culex nigripalpus Theobald, and Aedes albopictus Skuse was evaluated in the laboratory. Median lethal concentrations (LC50 in %) at 24-h exposure for male and female An. quadrimaculatus were 0.317 and 0.885, respectively; for Cx. nigripalpus, 0.273 and 0.560, respectively; and for Ae. albopictus, 0.174 and 0.527, respectively. The LC50 values at 48-h exposure for male and female An. quadrimaculatus were 0.101 and 0.395, respectively; for Cx. nigripalpus, 0.098 and 0.255, respectively; and for Ae. albopictus, 0.078 and 0.244, respectively. In laboratory tests, access for 48 h to sucrose (10%) water containing 1% boric acid (boric acid bait) resulted in 98% mortality in blood fed, gravid, and parous Ae. albopictus. When offered a choice between boric acid bait and sucrose water, 52% of male and 33% of female Ae. albopictus ingested sufficient boric acid bait in 24 h to cause death; after 48 h, respective percent mortalities were 88 and 58%. In outdoor tests, in a walk-in screened cage (156 m3) containing 1,250 female Ae. albopictus, mosquito biting rates on the exposed forearm of a human subject in 3-min exposure were reduced > or = 78% for the boric acid bait treatment, compared with a sucrose water control.
authors.affiliation: Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, P.O. Box 14565, Gainesville, FL 32604, USA.
authors.forename: Rui-De
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Barnard
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles; D001888:Boric Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003465:Culex; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology; D007306:Insecticides; D008297:Male; D009032:Mosquito Control; D010675:Pheromones
chemical_list: D001888:Boric Acids; D007306:Insecticides; D010675:Pheromones; C010411:insect attractants; C032688:boric acid