Adult Control II
Adult Control II
Spatial repellents are a novel mosquito control technology with great potential. Many of these products require little input from end-users as they involve an active emitting device or a volatile chemistry that is passively deployed. As such, there is a greater possibility for user compliance without onerous reapplication regimens and constant redeployment protocols, as in the case of topical repellents. While numerous laboratory assays exist for the identification of spatial repellents, little is known about how the results from these various assays translate to field efficacy. Our group evaluated the potential of a laboratory small-tube glass spatial repellency assay to predict efficacy in a series of spatial repellency field trials on a field site in Gainesville, FL. The laboratory assay identified numerous plant oils that were as active as other known, commercial repellents. Moreover, a number of oils were also not highly active in this assay and therefore a spectrum of activity was available for correlation to field work. In the field characterization of these oils, select oils produced statistically significant repellency when looking at total mosquito capture. On the basis of individual mosquito species capture, these trends were very similar (i.e., no significant difference in the rank potency of each oil was observed among the three most abundant mosquitoes species - Aedes infirmatis, Anopheles crucians, and Culex coronator). While direct linear correlations between laboratory bioassay results and field trial outcomes were not achievable, the best oils in the lab generally performed better in the field. Overall, this study highlights the utility of this small-tube glass repellency assay in characterizing spatial repellents, as field efficacy was similar to that observed in the laboratory. Future work will expand these comparisons to further evaluate potential correlation or lack thereof, and better understanding what parameters contribute to good correlations.