EVALUATION OF THERMAL FOGGER FOR EFFECTIVENESS OF LARVICIDE-ADULTICIDE MIXTURE AGAINST AEDES AEGYPTI

A hand-held thermal fogger was evaluated to spray a mixture of adulticide (Aqualuer 20-20® containing permethrin and piperonyl butoxide) and a biological larvicide (VectoBac®12AS, containing Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis). Adulticide was applied at maximum label rate of 37 mL/ha while larvicide rates were 0.58, 1.76, 2.64, and 3.50 L/ha (Maximum label rate 2.34 L/ha). Two rows, 7.6 m apart, of bioassay cages containing susceptible 25, 5-7 days old female Aedes aegypti were used to assess effectiveness of the adulticide. Along with each cage were two 473 mL empty plastic cups at 0 and 1.3 m above ground to collect the larvicide. Two control cages and two empty cups were placed upwind in the field for five minutes and removed before the spray. The study was conducted in the evening with five separated replications of a rate. The exposed cages and cups were retrieved from the field and brought back to the laboratory for further observations and tests to determine mortality at 24 and 48 h, respectively. All the adults in all treatment cages and all tests died within 24 h of the spray application. In the lab, larval mortality was assessed by introducing Ae. aegypti larvae, where mortality decreased with increasing distance from the spray line and increased with increasing application rate. The larval mortality at all distances was strongly correlated with application rate (R2 = 0.98). The highest rate used produced 64 -95% larval mortality at all distances. The results indicate that Aqualuer 20-20 and VectoBac 12AS can be applied simultaneously as a mixture achieving complete adult control and considerable larval control.