An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Commercial Mechanical Trap to Reduce Abundance of Adult Nuisance Mosquito Populations

In this study, we explore the potential of a commercially available mechanical mosquito control device, the Liberty Plus Mosquito Magnet (hereafter referred to as Mosquito Magnet), to reduce the abundance of adult nuisance mosquito populations in public recreational areas. Mosquitoes were trapped on 2 replicate sites close to a campground at Brae Island Regional Park near Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Each site comprised a treatment (Mosquito Magnets used) and control subsection (Mosquito Magnets not used). Mosquito numbers were assessed before and after the treatment period in both subsections at each site with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) black light traps. Although nearly 200,000 mosquitoes from 14 different species were collected over 366 trap-nights from May 31 to July 31, 2008, the majority of those identified were Aedes sticticus (68%) and Ae. vexans (22%)-2 of the most notorious nuisance mosquito species in British Columbia. The number of mosquitoes captured by CDC black light traps increased overall during the study period due to natural seasonal variation. Nevertheless, a significant treatment effect (P = 0.0389) was associated with an average decrease of about 32% in the average number of adult mosquitoes collected per day. These results strongly suggest that Mosquito Magnets can reduce the abundance of nuisance mosquitoes, potentially reducing the biting pressure on the public, and providing another tool in mosquito control operations.