Semiochemicals, traps/targets and mass trapping technology for mosquito management

Technologies which utilize semiochemicals, traps/targets and mass trapping are relatively new for management of adult mosquito populations. To date most of the emphasis has been on developing barriers of attractant-baited and insecticide-impregnated targets. The most successful continuous use of this type of technology has been at Stevens' Landing, Collier County, FL. Recently, commercially available traps have been evaluated for their ability to reduce nuisance populations of mosquitoes. Use of Mosquito Magnet (TM) Pro traps along a nature trail on an isolated island (Atsena Otie) in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in a significant reduction in annoyance caused by the black salt marsh mosquito Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus (Wiedemann). This chapter presents a brief discussion of semiochemicals (behavior modifying) and mosquito traps, strategies for using them for insect control, and an overview of the recent advancements in research activities conducted to evaluate using combinations of serniochemicals and mass trapping techniques for adult mosquito management.