Laboratory comparison of Aedes aegypti attraction to human odors and to synthetic human odor compounds and blends.

Chemical lures can enhance the ability of traps to collect mosquitoes, selectively target species for capture, and provide a realistic assessment of the species and host-equivalent numbers of mosquitoes present in the local area. One approach to the development of chemical lures is to manufacture blends that comprise odors released in human emanations. These blends need to be safe for use in the environment, desirable from an economic standpoint, and transportable to the field for use in traps. In this report, we compared the attraction of mosquitoes to various chemicals, blends, and odors from humans. Noncompetitive (single-treatment) bioassays established that some blends are equivalent or more attractive to Aedes aegypti than human odors. Competitive bioassays were conducted; these involved simultaneous comparison of 2 treatments: single compounds to binary blends; binary blends to a trinary blend of L-lactic acid, acetone, and dimethyl disulfide; and the trinary blend to human odors from 3 volunteers. The overall trend was that the trinary blend was more attractive than binary blends, and binary blends were more attractive than single compounds. However, human odors were still significantly more attractive than the trinary blend. Therefore, further modifications and refinements to blends will be needed to better compete against human odors.