SEMI-FIELD AND FIELD EVALUATIONS OF NEW, AGED, AND REFURBISHED CDC LIGHT TRAPS AGAINST MOSQUITOES, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

Abstract

Surveillance traps are vital for monitoring mosquitoes and guiding control efforts. The CDC light trap (CDC-LT) is widely used, but the impact of trap age or condition on effectiveness remains unclear. This study tested new, old, and refurbished CDC-LTs under semi-field and field conditions at the Anastasia Mosquito Control District in Florida. In semi-field tests, female Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus were released into enclosures, and traps were tested with no attractant, dry ice, or octenol. A three-way ANOVA showed mosquito species and attractant type significantly affected captures (p < 0.001), with dry ice yielding the highest catches. Trap type had a minor but statistically significant effect (p = 0.008), although post hoc tests detected no pairwise differences. In field trials, 6,287 mosquitoes from six genera and fourteen species were collected. New, old, and refurbished traps caught 2,641, 1,841, and 1,805 mosquitoes, respectively, with no significant difference in capture performance (p = 0.824). Overall, the trap condition had minimal effect on mosquito counts, whereas attractant type was the primary driver of variation. The findings suggest CDC-LTs are effective regardless of age or use, supporting the use of refurbished or older traps in resource-limited programs while maintaining surveillance quality.