title: Not in my backyard: effectiveness of outdoor residual spraying from hand-held sprayers against the mosquito Aedes albopictus in Rome, Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  WHO guidelines state that adulticide interventions are recommended only in case of disease outbreak. However, peridomestic sprayings are carried out routinely to reduce Aedes albopictus (Skuse) nuisance, at least in Italy. Failing to keep low adult abundance over time triggers the need for further applications. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a common control strategy routinely performed by citizens in highly infested urban sites inside the metropolitan city of Rome using a freely purchasable pyrethroid and a hand-held sprayer. Moreover, the effectiveness evaluated in three field experiments was compared with that achieved by blending the pyrethroid with a new carbon-based liquid additive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An 86% post-treatment reduction in Ae. albopictus abundance was observed in gravid and host-seeking females, while the population recovery time was 10 days. Blending the insecticide with the additive lengthened mosquito recovery time to over 14 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peridomestic sprayings largely reduce mosquito populations immediately after treatment but fail to keep low mosquito abundance for a longer period, partially explaining the uncontrolled repetitions of treatments. An optimal control application could benefit from research in the field of additives to improve mosquito abatement and the performance of pyrethroids over time. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy.|Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Mattia
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3709-1199
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manica
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cobre
authors.affiliation: Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosà
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Beniamino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Caputo
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D002947:Cities; D005260:Female; D007306:Insecticides; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods; D011156:Population Density; D011722:Pyrethrins; D012384:Rome
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D011722:Pyrethrins
keywords: Aedes mosquito; insecticide sprayings; mosquito nuisance; vector control; vector reduction