Relative Efficacy of Common Larvicides on Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

Authors

  • Michael Charles Jimmerson Texas A&M University
  • Desirae Medrano
  • Steven Shao
  • Jessica Stahr
  • Derek Torres
  • Rachel Whaley

Abstract

The mosquito species Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) is known as a significant threat to human health due to its ability to vector diseases such as Dengue fever, West Nile virus, Chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika virus. The ability to control the population of Aedes albopictus by applying treatments that terminate the larval stage would greatly reduce the number of these disease vectors, and thereby disease transmission rates, within the area of treatment. An experiment was conducted to test the efficacy of several larvicides in exterminating the mosquito species Aedes albopictus. Specimens were collected in the Bryan/College Station area, and malathion 57%, permethrin 36.8%, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, and oil treatments (a positive control group) were analyzed. The effectiveness of each larvicide was measured by the average mortality rate observed across two trials in comparison to the results of a negative control group. The order of successfulness of the pesticides (most to least effective) was concluded to be oil, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, permethrin, and malathion. While the samples treated with permethrin and malathion had Aedes albopictus mortality rates ranging from about 40.9% to 56.5% in the two trials, the samples treated with B.t.i. displayed 50% to 61.9% mortality rates in each trials. Oil, the positive control, presented the expected 100% mortality. However, oil is an unrealistic treatment method due to its negative effects on the environment as a whole. Thus, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis was concluded to be the most effective and applicable larvicide for Aedes albopictus.

References

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Published

2019-11-04