Efficacy of carbon dioxide, 1-octen-3-ol, and lactic acid in modified Fay-Prince traps as compared to man-landing catch of Aedes aegypti.

The attractants 1-octen-3-ol and lactic acid significantly decreased catches of Aedes aegypti in Townsville, Australia, by 50% in a controlled laboratory environment and by 100% in the field when compared to carbon dioxide baited bidirectional Fay-Prince trap catches. Evaluation of an omnidirectional alteration on a bidirectional Fay-Prince trap revealed no significant improvement in catch size when compared to both the bidirectional trap and man-landing catch (MLC). Cumulative evening MLC (1730-2000 h) was twice that of the morning MLC (0600-0830 h), which has implications on the precise estimation of the man-biting rate. The MLC sampling method is shown to be a quick, simple, effective and cheap alternative to expensive traps in areas not currently experiencing arbovirus transmission.