Assesment of mosquito trap using semiochemical as an attractant

Abstract

A semiochemical is a chemical substance or mixture that carries a message. These chemicals acts as messengers for members of the same species or in some cases other species. It is usually used in the field of chemical ecology to encompass pheromones, allomones, kairomones, attractants and repellents. Semiochemicals are used as increasingly important components of integrated pest management strategies for a growing number of insect species. Traps baited with attractant are being considered as an alternative to prevent the usage of chemical insecticide, which is hazardous and toxic. In an effort to minimise the usage of chemical insecticide, an assessment of traps baited with attractant was conducted. This study was carried out at several locations in rural and urban area of Kuala Terengganu which include shop, hostel, house, tyre shop, petrol station, construction site-1, construction site-2, shop lots, abandoned house and abandoned shop, Pasar Payang, Chinatown, temple, shop lots, petrol station, Pangsapuri Jernih, school and abandoned house. A total of 732 adult mosquitoes were collected. Among them, 471 mosquitoes were collected in traps baited with attractant whereas, 261 mosquitoes in control traps. From this study, Cu/ex sp. were captured the most as compared to Aedes sp., suggesting that the attractant is more effective towards Cu/ex sp. More female mosquitoes were captured compared to the male mosquitoes which indicates that female mosquitoes are attracted to the attractant since the attractant mimics human odor and the female mosquito is in search for host (blood meal). As a conclusion, this study indicates that traps baited with attractant is a suitable strategy to control the population of mosquito in urban and rural area.