Ovitraps Placed in Dwellings and on Public Paved Areas for Aedes Aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Monitoring

Abstract

The oviposition level between ovitraps placed in human dwellings and on public paved areas for the monitoring of Aedes aegypti was compared, and proposes the best ovitrap installation sites on public paved areas in a neighborhood of Buenos Aires City, Argentina. A total of 60 randomly distributed ovitraps were placed in human dwellings (n=38) and public paved areas (n=22), and examined weekly over a ten-week period. The Ovitrap Positivity Index (OPI) and the Egg Density Index (EDI) were used as indicators of oviposition level. The indexes were calculated on a weekly basis. Environmental variables evaluated for public paved areas were type of corridor, tree height and dwelling height. OPI and EDI values were higher for dwellings than for public paved areas. There was a positive correlation between the infestation indices in dwellings and in public paved areas. In the latter there was a positive association between low OPI and EDI values and tall trees, avenue as type corridor, and dwellings with two stories or more, whereas there was a positive association between high values of these indices and short and medium trees, and a negative association with tall trees, avenue, and dwellings with two stories or more. Our results suggest that the sensitivity of ovitraps in monitoring of A. aegypti in public paved areas is lower than in dwellings, and this sensitivity would increase if considering some environmental variables.