Insecticide-treated vertical mesh barriers reduce the number of biting mosquitoes

Mosquitoes foraging for blood sources normally fly relatively close to the ground where wind velocities do not exceed their flight speed. An experiment designed to block foraging mosquitoes from reaching inhabited houses was conducted in a rural settlement flanked by agricultural fields. Mosquitoes were collected during 9 nights using 30 carbon dioxide-baited traps deployed along the external walls of six houses in the row closest to the settlement's perimeter fence. Thereafter, a deltamethrin-impregnated mesh was draped along 400 m of the perimeter fence to a height of 2 m opposite three of the monitored houses. Mosquitoes were trapped for a further 11 nights. A significant difference in the numbers of mosquitoes caught before and after the intervention was demonstrated near protected houses, whereas no significant difference was observed in catches near control houses. The percentage of Culex perexiguus (Diptera: Culicidae), an important vector of West Nile virus, was significantly lower near protected houses (13%) than around control houses (45%). By contrast, the percentage of Culex pipiens was not significantly affected (16% at experimental and 18% at control houses). Although the results presented here are preliminary, the data demonstrate the potential efficacy of vertical insecticidal barriers for mosquito control.