Mosquito Traps: An Innovative, Environmentally Friendly Technique to Control Mosquitoes.
We tested the use of mosquito traps as an alternative to spraying insecticide in Camargue (France) following the significant impacts observed on the non-target fauna through Bti persistence and trophic perturbations. In a village of 600 inhabitants, 16 Techno Bam traps emitting CO₂ and using octenol lures were set from April to November 2016. Trap performance was estimated at 70% overall based on mosquitoes landing on human bait in areas with and without traps. The reduction ofOchlerotatus caspiusandOc. detritus, the two species targeted by Bti spraying, was, respectively, 74% and 98%. Traps were less efficient againstAnopheles hyrcanus(46%), which was more attracted by lactic acid than octenol lures based on previous tests. Nearly 300,000 mosquitoes from nine species were captured, with large variations among traps, emphasizing that trap performance is also influenced by surrounding factors. Environmental impact, based on the proportion of non-target insects captured, was mostly limited to small chironomids attracted by street lights. The breeding success of a house martin colony was not significantly affected by trap use, in contrast to Bti spraying. Our experiment confirms that the deployment of mosquito traps can offer a cost-effective alternative to Bti spraying for protecting local populations from mosquito nuisance in sensitive natural areas.
Tour du Valat Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France. poulin@tourduvalat.org.
Brigitte
B
Poulin
Tour du Valat Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France. lefebvre@tourduvalat.org.
Gaëtan
G
Lefebvre
Tour du Valat Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France. muranyi.camille@gmail.com.|Université Montpellier, Faculté des Sciences, Place Eugène Bataillon-CC437, 34095 Montpellier cedex 5, France. muranyi.camille@gmail.com.
Camille
C
Muranyi-Kovacs
Tour du Valat Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France. hilaire@tourduvalat.org.
Samuel
S
Hilaire
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004777:Environment; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods*; D044969:Ochlerotatus; D000442:Octanols / Q000008:administration & dosage
D000442:Octanols; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D019344:Lactic Acid; C038844:1-octen-3-ol
Bti-spraying alternative; Camargue; Techno Bam traps; environmental impacts; mosquito control