222 - Incorporating Sterile Insect Technique into IPM toolbox to control invasive Aedes mosquitoes in the West Valley region of San Bernardino County, California

Sterile Insect technique (SIT) has brought novel opportunities to intensify efforts to control the invasive Aedes mosquitoes in California. The West Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District has embraced this tool and is working to incorporate it into the conventional IPM toolbox for invasive Aedes mosquito control. Our approach in utilizing SIT for invasive Aedes control is unique since it only targets hotspots instead of large-scale blanket releases. This work aims to assess if targeted sterile male mosquito point releases can suppress invasive Aedes population in hotspot neighborhoods. In our pilot program, we released sterile male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes at three sites in three cities. First, a site was selected based on counts from BG Sentinel trappings. Baseline (prior to release) and follow-up cluster mosquito trapping was conducted within 100 and 200 yards from each site. A 100-times the number of female Ae aegypti from BG Sentinel traps were released at each site. Follow-up cluster mosquito trapping was conducted at 9 sites around each release site for four consecutive weeks. The results and their implications are discussed. Lessons drawn from this pilot program help to optimize SIT as an additional tool in our IPM toolbox for the control of invasive mosquitoes.