UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A new project funded by the Northeastern IPM Center is targeting Asian tiger mosquitoes, one of the most invasive pests in the country and a potential health risk.
According to George Hamilton, professor of entomology at Rutgers University and project co-coordinator, the Asian tiger mosquito is responsible for most complaints about mosquitoes. "Most mosquito control programs rely on controversial and ineffective applications of broad-spectrum pesticides to combat mosquitoes, but it's almost impossible to identify and treat all sources by hand." In addition, most mosquito control programs only spray at night, which is when Asian tiger mosquitoes are inactive.
Asian tiger mosquitoes first appeared in Texas in 1985 on a shipment of tires from Japan. Within a decade, the species had spread to 30 states and across the northeast. "You can identify tiger mosquitoes by their black bodies with distinctive white stripes. They are a day-biting mosquito that leaves painful bites," Hamilton explains. "Larvae will develop in almost any container that holds standing water including discarded tire piles, catch basins, birdbaths, storm drains, flowerpots, rain gutters, cemetery urns, and cans and other trash."
Besides being a nuisance, the Asian tiger mosquito is also a health risk. "The mosquito has the potential to spread diseases such as West Nile virus, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and heartworm in dogs," Hamilton explains.
The project is developing new biocontrol strategies using ULV (aerosol) applications of the bacterial larvicide Bti. Biocontrol is one component of an integrated pest management (IPM) program. IPM aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible.
Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis serovariety israelensis) is a naturally occurring bacterium used for larval mosquito control. After ingestion, mosquito specific toxics are released, killing the pest. Bti has no effect on non-targeted organisms.
Hamilton and his colleagues will use truck-mounted ULV equipment typically used by mosquito control programs to apply insecticides in urban residential settings. "The Bti will drift and settle into containers of water where larvae reside, providing a quick, efficient, and cost effective control," he explains. "Our IPM approach will reduce the abundance of this pest, the dependence on broad-spectrum pesticides, reduce non-target impacts, and pesticide resistance." Researchers will test Bti's effectiveness in both field trials and real world conditions.
Hamilton says they will also prepare workshops and print and web-based materials to train mosquito control personnel throughout the region and beyond in the use of this technology. "We'll begin by training local mosquito control agencies in New Jersey. These training sessions will be used to develop a formal workshop and training
materials that will be made available to mosquito control agencies throughout the northeast." All training materials will be made available on the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology's web site at http://vectorbio.rutgers.edu/index.php.
For more information on the project, contact Hamilton at (732) 932-9774 or email at hamilton@NJAES.rutgers.edu.