Integrated Mosquito Management by Simple Eco-Friendly Technology

Abstract

Mosquito is one of the threatened insect pests. It acts as a vector of various diseases like malaria, dengue, filaria, chikungunya, etc. It breeds well in water with organic matter. Thus, a study was made to enquire the actual safe breeding place of this insect. It is proved that most of the mosquitoes (54%) breed well in septic tank water of sanitary latrine. Adult enters the septic tank through outlet pipe and completed the life cycle safely and emerged out either through water outlet or gas pipe. In this paper, a simple technological alteration was devised with normal sanitary latrine i.e. outlet pipe of the septic tank was made U-shaped instead of straight, so that U-shaped tube always holds some running water to prevent the entry of adult gravid female mosquito. The top of the gas pipe is also netted properly with rust proof net. About (17%) mosquitoes breed in the stagnant water of discarded earthen vessels and coconut shell. In this project paper discarded coconut shell and earthen vessels were reused to produce saplings instead of plastic bags in agricultural nursery and others. Mixture of Pudina (Mentha spicata) and neem (Azadirachta indica) herbal eco-friendly mosquito repellent sticks, spray and pudina oil were also effectively used to combat adult mosquito and its larvae. Thus, an integrated mosquito population management was attempted in a local area of Berhampore town (24.09° N, 88.26° E) also to reduce the use of plastic bags to produce sapling in nursery and others.