An Experimental Evaluation on the Contribution of Rain Barrels to Mosquito Production

  • Surveys of container type and juvenile mosquito presence was recorded weekly for ten weeks on 83 residential properties in the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Champaign County, IL.
  • Large containers (holding ~100L of water) had the greatest abundance of mosquitoes.- Aedes albopictus, a Zika, dengue and chikungunya virus vector, was found in all container types.
  • Culex restuans and Cx. pipiens, both vectors of West Nile virus (WNV), were mostly found in large containers.
  • Species composition within the container habitats shifted over the course of the mosquito season.
  • For Culex species, the greatest number of egg rafts were laid in the garbage can. More egg rafts were laid in flower pots compared to saucers. When the garbage can was removed, the total number of egg rafts decreased compared to sites where the garbage can remained for the duration of the study.
  • For Aedes spp., the least number of eggs were laid in the saucers compared to the flower pots and garbage cans. There was no difference in the number of eggs laid before or after removal of the garbage can. At sites where the garbage can was removed, the number of eggs laid in the flower pots increased.