Mosquito trap prototypes for low-resource settings: A comparative study

Objective: To develop mosquito trap prototypes and compare their efficiency and cost-effectiveness with commercial products. Methods: The frameworks for mosquito trap prototypes were separately developed and assembled. The warmth retention efficiency and duration of carbon dioxide (up to 400 ppm) release were determined for the prototypes. Mosquito trap efficiency was determined by comparing the number of mosquitoes trapped in sticky glue only, mosquito trap prototypes I, II, and III, and commercial products I, II. A comparative analysis of cost, durability, availability, power consumption and effectiveness was also performed. Results are expressed as mean±standard deviation. A P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Mosquito trap prototypes I, II and III were successfully developed. The warmth retention and carbon dioxide release (up to 400 ppm) were sustained for about two hours after the assembly of the prototypes. Mosquito trap experiments demonstrated significantly higher mosquito trap efficiency for mosquito trap prototype III, with 6.3±3.1 mosquito trapped using citric acid:sodium bicarbonate (1:2) and 4.6±2.1 mosquito trapped using citric acid:sodium bicarbonate (1:1). No mosquitoes were trapped in both commercial mosquito traps. Furthermore, commercial mosquito traps were expensive, had uncertain durability, longer access times after ordering, and required a continuous power supply. In contrast, the developed mosquito trap prototype III was cheap, easy to handle, durable, easily available, required low power consumption and highly effective in trapping mosquitoes. Conclusions: Mosquito trap prototype III provides an economical and viable solution for trapping mosquitoes, mainly for low-income populations.