Control of Aedes albopictus with attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB) and potential impact on non-target organisms in St. Augustine, Florida

The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of bait stations and foliar applications containing attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB) and eugenol to control Aedes albopictus. At the same time, the potential impact of these control methods was evaluated on non-target organisms. The study was conducted at five tire sites in St. Augustine, Florida. A. albopictus populations were significantly reduced with ATSB–eugenol applications applied directly to non-flowering vegetation and as bait stations compared with non-attractive sugar baits and control. The application of ATSB made to non-flowering vegetation resulted in more significant reductions of mosquito populations compared to the application of ATSB presented in a bait station. Over 5.5 % of the non-targets were stained in the flowering vegetation application site. However, when the attractive sugar bait application was made to non-flowering vegetation or presented in bait stations, the impact on non-target insects was very low for all non-target orders as only 0.6 % of the individual insects were stained with the dye from the sugar solutions, respectively. There were no significant differences between the staining of mosquitoes collected in flowering vegetation (206/1000) or non-flowering vegetation (242/1000) sites during the non-target evaluation. Our field studies support the use of eugenol as an active ingredient for controlling the dengue vector A. albopictus when used as an ATSB toxin and demonstrates potential use in sub-tropical and tropical environments for dengue control.