title: Reduction of mosquito biting-pressure: spatial repellents or mosquito traps? A field comparison of seven commercially available products in Israel.
abstract: The present study assessed the personal protection efficiency of seven commercially available mosquito control devices (MCD) under field conditions in Israel. Trials were performed in a high biting-pressure area inhabited by large populations of mosquito and biting midge species, using human volunteers as bait in landing catch experiments. Results show that under minimal air-movement, three spatial repellent based products (ThermaCELL(®) Patio Lantern, OFF!(®) PowerPad lamp, and Terminix(®) ALLCLEAR Tabletop Mosquito Repeller) significantly reduced the biting-pressure (t-test - P<0.01) when positioned at short distances from a volunteer (3, 7.5, and 10ft.), with the ThermaCELL unit being most effective (96.1, 89.9, and 76.66% reduction, respectively). No significant differences were seen between the three aforementioned devices at distances of 3 and 7.5ft., while at a distance of 10ft., only the ThermaCELL patio lantern repelled significantly more mosquitoes then the Terminix ALLCLEAR Tabletop Mosquito Repeller (t-test, P<0.05). In contrast, mosquito traps using attracting cues to bait mosquitoes (Dynatrap(®), Vortex(®) Electronic Insect Trap, Blue Rhino(®) SV3100) either significantly increased or had no effect on the biting-pressure at short distances compared with the unprotected control. Trials conducted over large areas showed that only the Blue Rhino trap was able to significantly reduce the biting-pressure (40.1% reduction), but this was only when operating four units at the corners of an intermediate sized area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa 34995, Israel.
authors.forename: Edita E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Revay
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kline
authors.forename: Rui-De
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Whitney A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Qualls
authors.forename: Ulrich R
authors.initials: UR
authors.lastname: Bernier
authors.forename: Vasiliy D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Kravchenko
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghattas
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pstygo
authors.forename: Günter C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009033:Culicidae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D007302:Insect Repellents