Literature Review

Jacob Menchaca, Cyril Kuaiwa, Andrew Tran, Jonah Gutierrez, Valerie Moya

Introduction

After identifying the species collected by the patients and comparing which patients had been in
contact with the same species, the three potential vectors were found to be Aedes aegypti,
Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Dermacentor andersoni. To progress further in the case, the
suspected vectors will need to be trapped and collected. This can be accomplished through the
usage of effective and efficient trapping methods that correspond to the vector being collected.

Materials and Methods

Both tick and mosquito traps and collection methods will be implemented to effectively capture
the potential vectors. For maximum efficacy, the counterflow geometry trap will be used to trap
mosquitoes and both the flagging method and the plastic tub traps will be used to trap ticks.
Materials needed for the flagging method include a 3 foot PVC pipe that is 1 inch in diameter, an
8 foot nylon rope that .25 inches in diameter, 1 square yard of heavy duty white cotton fleece, and
white duck tape. To assemble the flag, run the rope through the PVC pipe and then tie the ends
together. Place the PVC pipe on the cotton fleece, then fold the cotton fleece over the PVC pipe
with two inches of overlap and tape the fold down. Materials required for the plastic tub trap
include a 24 cm long plastic tub with 4 holes (one on each side), a 28 cm long, 1.9 cm thick wooden
base with 45 degree ramps on each side, dry ice, and masking tape. To set up the trap, the plastic
tub is placed on top of the wooden base, then masking tape is placed sticky side up at the top of
each ramp of the wooden base. When ready to start trapping, 1 kg of dry ice is placed in the plastic
tub.

Materials needed for the counterflow geometry mosquito trap include an 11.4 liter PVC pretzel
container with the bottom removed, 4 x 7 in PVC pipe, 2 x 2 PVC pipe, an 80-mm fan, a 40-mm
fan, a small lid, and a small 0.32 cm tube. The 4 x 7 pipe was placed through the container and the
2 x 2 pipe was mounted concentric with the larger pipe and extended 3 inches beyond the larger
pipe. The 80-mm fan was attached to the lid of the container to blow air out of the trap. The 40-
mm fan was mounted to seal the smaller tube from the container and provide air flow in the
opposite direction of the 80-mm fan. The lid is attached above the 80-mm fan to prevent rain
damage and the small tube is inserted in the side of the small PVC pipe to provide CO . 2
The traps will be placed in the locations where the patients visited, since these areas are most likely
where the patients came into contact with the vector and disease. 4 mosquito traps and 4 tick traps
will be placed in the area of the National Western Stock Show, as it is believed that this is a central
location many of the patients attended, at 4655 Humboldt St, Denver, CO 80216. Flagging will be
done once a week as well. 2 mosquito traps and 2 tick traps will be placed in the area of the
Cunningham residence in Elbert County, Colorado, at the coordinates (39.172796, -104.515971).
Flagging will also be completed once a week when the traps are checked. 2 mosquito traps and 2
tick traps will be placed on Angela Hutt’s Spotted Horse Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming (4585 S.
Park Loop Rd) and in the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch (22799 N Elbert Rd, Elbert, CO 80106).
Flagging will be done once a week at these locations when the traps are checked to sample for
ticks. Overall, 10 mosquito traps and 10 tick traps will be placed at the locations described, and
flagging will be done once a week when the traps are checked.

Discussion

There are many different variants of mosquito traps. However, most of these mosquito traps utilize
one of three different mosquito attractants: light, CO , or odor, such as octenol (Kline 2006). Light
2

traps involve the use of a lamp that is either battery operated or through direct current. However,
this trap was deemed least effective, as only 1% of freed mosquitoes were recaptured by the light
trap. (Kline 1999). Other insects, such as moths, are also attracted to the light and liable to be
captured in the trap by accident. Using CO in conjunction with a light trap led to a capture rate of
2

16.5% and adding octenol to trap as well led to a capture rate of 26% (Kline 1999). Standard traps
that utilize light in conjunction with the other two attractants are common, however, more efficient
traps have been tested that are able to trap more mosquitoes. These studies showed that CO and 2

odor made a trap much more efficient than light. One of these newer trap designs is known as a
counterflow geometry trap. Inside, a 40mm fan and an 80mm fan is used to provide a counterflow
that pulls in insects as they fly by (Kline 1999). Mosquitoes are attracted to the trap due to a small
tube emitting CO and octenol inside the trap. Another similar trap design is the Ifkara odor-baited
2

station. This trap design utilizes the same attractant mechanics as the counterflow geometry trap,
however, its appearance differs from the geometry trap. The Ifkara trap is a wooden hut-shaped
box with 7 different openings, 4 of which are larger than the other 3 openings. Two of the openings
are also fitted with UV-resistant netting with a wire frame to allow mosquitoes to enter freely, but
are unable to exit the trap (Okumu et al 2010). In a study by Okumu in 2010, the Ifkara trap and
the counterflow geometry trap performed superior to a more basic trap that was used as a control,
indicating these two traps are more effective at trapping mosquitoes.
There are different methods for trapping and collecting ticks. Walking is a common collection
method, where the collector walks through tick habitats while wearing long clothing and collects
any ticks that attached to the clothing during the walkthrough. However, more efficient methods
of tick collection include the flagging method and a trapping method using a tub. The flagging
method involves dragging two flags simultaneously to stir up the ticks in the leaf litter and have
them attach to the flag. The smaller flag is preferred for attaching ticks, as it is easier to sort through
the flag to find nymphal ticks (Ginsberg and Ewing 1989). The trapping method involves mounting
a plastic tub on a wooden base with ramps leading to the tub. Dry ice was wrapped up and placed
inside the plastic tub, as the CO would attract ticks to the tub and they would climb up the ramp.
2

Tape with the sticky side up was placed on the wooden base at the top of the ramp to trap any ticks
that climbed the ramp due to being attracted by the CO . A combination of the flagging method
2

and using plastic tub traps would be the most effective method in trapping ticks.

References

Chang, Y. K. 2007. Method of Trapping Mosquitoes. US Patent Application.

Ginsberg, H. S., and C. P. Ewing. 1989. Comparison of flagging, walking, trapping, and
collecting from hosts as sampling methods for northern deer ticks,Ixodes dammini, and lone-star
ticks,Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae). Experimental & Applied Acarology. 7: 313–
322.
Imboden, E. A. 2019. What is Tick INsiders? Tick INsiders. (https://tickinsiders.org/).
Kline, D. L. 1999. Comparison of two American biophysics mosquito traps: the professional and
a new counterflow geometry trap. J American Mosquito Control Association. 15: 276–282.
Kline, D. L. 2006. Traps and Trapping Techniques for Adult Mosquito Control. J American
Mosquito Control Association. 22: 490–496.
Okumu, F. O., E. P. Madumla, A. N. John, D. W. Lwetoijera, and R. D. Sumaye. 2010.
Attracting, trapping and killing disease-transmitting mosquitoes using odor-baited stations -The
Ifakara Odor-Baited Stations. Parasites & Vectors. 3: 12.
Rulison, E. L., I. Kuczaj, G. Pang, G. J. Hickling, J. I. Tsao, and H. S. Ginsberg. 2013.
Flagging versus dragging as sampling methods for nymphalIxodes scapularis(Acari: Ixodidae). J
Vector Ecology. 38: 163–167.