Field Evaluated, Human-Baited Tent Traps with Novel Design Features to Increase Mosquito Collection

Historically, more troops sent into battle are taken out of action by insect-borne diseases than are injured in combat, according to the Department of the Defense. In order to minimize the threat of insect-borne disease, military entomological units require an efficient collection device for sampling local mosquito vectors. Traditional collection methods present logistical challenges for widespread military deployment because they often require dry ice to produce carbon dioxide. To address this capability issue, Mainstream has developed two concepts for efficient tent trap designs which require no additional attractants other than the human occupant sleeping inside the tent. Mainstream has formed a partnership with Johnson Outdoors Inc., a commercial manufacturer of military tents, and will use their military tents to develop prototype designs during Phase I. Mainstream will also enlist the help of the experts at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory to provide field testing of each prototype design in order to determine which tent trap concept is more effective for capturing mosquitoes. Based on these results, the Phase II efforts will focus on producing a commercially available tent trap by optimizing the selected concept through additional design revisions and field testing.