A Push-Pull System for Control of Outdoor Malaria Vectors

Alexandra Hiscox from Wageningen University in The Netherlands will enhance the effectiveness of outdoor baited traps to attract disease-spreading mosquitoes by combining them with a repellant applied to the outside of houses. In contrast to indoor repellants and insecticide-treated bed nets, this push-pull system targets those outdoor mosquitoes specifically looking to bite humans, and does not use potentially harmful chemicals that can lead to resistance. At a field site in South Africa, they will test whether their system can reduce the entry of mosquitoes into occupied houses.