Collecting mosquito data is a critical step in our mosquito control operations. One of the ways in which we collect data is to set traps throughout St. Tammany Parish to monitor the development of mosquitoes. The data collected from these traps provides our team with the knowledge of where mosquito populations are increasing the disease threat to that area and guides our treatment decisions each week.

You may have found this page because you have run across our equipment in the field – so what are you looking at? Read on for a description of each trap!

No-Light CDC Traps

We set over 120 of these traps across the parish and they are our primary source of mosquito information. To assemble these traps, we place dry ice inside a standard water cooler – this acts as the bait to draw mosquitoes to the trap. Hanging from the dry ice canister is a battery-operated fan attached to a net that captures the mosquitoes as they come to the trap. While the trap is usually hanging from a tree, the battery pack is usually found sitting on the ground beneath the trap.

These traps are set out in the afternoon and collected the next morning – leaving them in the field during peak mosquito times of one hour before and after sunrise and sunset. The traps are brought back to our lab where they are sorted by species, counted, and sent to LADDL for arbovirus testing.

 

No-Light CDC Traps with CO₂ Canister 

 

We are currently testing an alternative to the dry ice trap described above. This modified trap functions the same way as the above dry ice trap, however this version uses a CO₂ canister to bait the same mosquitoes. The tanks are refillable and are being evaluated for their effectiveness and overall cost savings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BG Counter

These traps are currently being set at a limited number of locations across St. Tammany. The data provided by the BG Counter takes our knowledge of mosquito populations one step further by recording the time that each mosquito is captured. This informs us of changes to the peak activity time for mosquitoes in that area. How is that beneficial? We want to perform our adult mosquito control treatments, either by truck or by air, during that peak activity time frame so that we are able to kill more mosquitoes at one time. 

The BG Counters are set at a limited number of locations throughout St. Tammany. Unlike the CDC No-light traps, these traps are left out for a longer period of time and collected only once a week. The trap consists of a locked metal box with a corrugated metal roof and an attached solar panel that powers the computer system. Inside the locked box is the net and CO₂ canister which serve as the bait to attract the mosquitoes.