Habitat characteristics that favour the presence of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in households in the city of Córdoba, a temperate area of Argentina

Household containers, which are widely available and diverse in size and material in Córdoba City, provide favourable conditions for the persistence of Ae. aegypti. Abandoned nonfunctional and cryptic sites, such as tarpaulins and plastic covers, can provide breeding sites that enable Ae. aegypti mosquitoes endure the cold and dry seasons. During the warm and wet seasons, the presence and abundance of Ae. aegypti are influenced by microenvironmental conditions, such as shade provided by vegetation, high minimum temperatures and precipitation. The variety and number of available containers, together with shelter and feeding conditions, suggest that female mosquitoes can still find breeding sites even after selective household control measures have been implemented. These results, supported by generalised linear mixed models, which consider the lack of independence between containers within the same household or block, highlight the importance of incorporating fine-scale environmental variables into vector control planning.