Lethal ovitrap

The original use of ovitraps was to monitor the spread and density of Aedes and other container-breeding mosquito populations by collecting eggs which could be counted, or hatched to identify the types of insects.

Since its conception, researchers found that adding lethal substances to the ovitraps could control the populations of these targeted species.

They prefer to lay their eggs in small human-made containers that hold standing water including rain buckets, flower pots, old tires, gutters, the leaf axils of plants, and even discarded bottles, cans, and other trash.

Lethal ovitraps have been used in field studies to show their effectiveness in reducing mosquito populations below disease-transmission thresholds.

When referencing lethal ovitraps, the World Health Organization states, “Studies have shown that population densities can be reduced with sufficiently large numbers of frequently serviced traps.

[7] The Queensland Health Department effectively uses lethal ovitraps as a part of their dengue action response team protocol.

They state, “Operational use of this strategy to combat dengue outbreaks in Cairns and the Torres Strait suggests that large scale, or annihilation, ovitrapping is effective (e.g.

[10] Thailand ran a program that deployed mosquito control tools to communities, including lethal ovitraps for their yards and homes.

The percentage of lethal ovitraps with eggs decreased from 66% to 10% in the integrated management program, indicating that the population of Ae.