Britch Seth C, Linthicum Kenneth J, Wynn Wayne W, Walker Todd W, Farooq Muhammad, Smith Vincent L, Robinson Cathy A, Lothrop Branka B, Snelling Melissa, Gutierrez Arturo, Lothrop Hugh D
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2009 Jun;25(2):184-93. doi: 10.2987/08-5830.1.
Treating perimeters with residual insecticides for protection from mosquito vectors has shown promise. These barrier treatments are typically evaluated in temperate or tropical areas using abundant vegetation as a substrate. However, there is an emerging interest to develop this technology to protect deployed US troops in extreme desert environments with sparse vegetation. We used a remote desert area in the Coachella Valley, California, to 1) evaluate bifenthrin barrier treatments on native xeric vegetation and 2) compare treatments applied with electrostatic and conventional spray technologies. Through a combination of laboratory bioassays on treated and control vegetation sampled at specific intervals over 63 days, synchronized with field surveillance of mosquitoes, we measured the temporal pattern of bioactivity of bifenthrin barriers under natural hot, dry, and dusty desert conditions. Regardless of spray technology, mosquito catch in treated plots was about 80% lower than the catch in control plots 1 day after treatment. This reduction in mosquito numbers in treated plots declined each week after treatment but remained at about 40% lower than control plots after 28 days. Field data were corroborated by results from bioassays that showed significantly higher mosquito mortality on treated vegetation over controls out to 28 days postspray. We concluded that barrier treatments in desert environments, when implemented as part of a suite of integrated control measures, may offer a significant level of protection from mosquitoes for deployed troops. Given the comparable performance of the tested spray technologies, we discuss considerations for choosing a barrier treatment sprayer for military scenarios.
使用残留杀虫剂处理周边环境以防止蚊虫叮咬已显示出前景。这些屏障处理方法通常在温带或热带地区进行评估，以丰富的植被作为基质。然而，人们越来越有兴趣开发这项技术，以保护部署在植被稀少的极端沙漠环境中的美国军队。我们利用加利福尼亚州科切拉谷的一个偏远沙漠地区，1）评估联苯菊酯对原生旱生植被的屏障处理效果，2）比较静电喷雾技术和传统喷雾技术的处理效果。通过在63天内按特定间隔对处理过的和对照植被进行实验室生物测定，并与蚊子的野外监测同步，我们测量了在自然炎热、干燥和多尘的沙漠条件下联苯菊酯屏障的生物活性随时间变化的模式。无论采用哪种喷雾技术，处理过的地块在处理后1天捕获的蚊子数量比对照地块低约80%。处理过的地块中蚊子数量的减少在处理后每周都在下降，但在28天后仍比对照地块低约40%。生物测定结果证实了现场数据，结果表明，在喷雾后28天内，处理过的植被上蚊子的死亡率明显高于对照植被。我们得出结论，在沙漠环境中实施屏障处理作为一套综合控制措施的一部分，可能为部署的部队提供显著水平的防蚊保护。鉴于测试的喷雾技术性能相当，我们讨论了在军事场景中选择屏障处理喷雾器的考虑因素。
