Household use of insecticide consumer products in a dengue‐endemic area in México

Objectives To evaluate the household use of insecticide consumer products to kill mosquitoes and other insect pests, as well as the expenditures for using these products, in a dengue‐endemic area of México. Methods A questionnaire was administered to 441 households in Mérida City and other communities in Yucatán to assess household use of insecticide consumer products. Results A total of 86.6% of surveyed households took action to kill insect pests with consumer products. The most commonly used product types were insecticide aerosol spray cans (73.6%), electric plug‐in insecticide emitters (37.4%) and mosquito coils (28.3%). Mosquitoes were targeted by 89.7% of households using insecticide aerosol spray cans and >99% of households using electric plug‐in insecticide emitters or mosquito coils. Products were used daily or every 2 days in most of the households for insecticide aerosol spray cans (61.4%), electric plug‐in insecticide emitters (76.2%) and mosquito coils (82.1%). For all products used to kill insect pests, the median annual estimated expenditure per household that took action was 408 Mexican pesos ($MXN), which corresponded to approximately 31 $US. These numbers are suggestive of an annual market in excess of 75 million $MXN (>5.7 million $US) for Mérida City alone. Conclusion Mosquitoes threaten human health and are major nuisances in homes in the study area in México. Households were found to have taken vigorous action to kill mosquitoes and other insect pests and spent substantial amounts of money on insecticide consumer products. Objectifs Evaluer l'utilisation des biens de consommation insecticides par les ménages pour tuer les moustiques et autres insectes nuisibles, ainsi que les dépenses pour l'utilisation de ces produits, dans une région du Mexique endémique pour la dengue. Méthodes Un questionnaire a été soumis à 441 ménages dans la ville de Mérida et d'autres communautés dans le Yucatan afin d’évaluer l'utilisation des biens de consommation insecticides par les ménages. Résultats 86,6% des ménages ont pris des mesures pour tuer les insectes nuisibles avec des biens de consommation insecticides. Les types de produits les plus couramment utilisés sont des bombes pulvérisateurs d'aérosols insecticides (73.6%), des émetteurs électriques d'insecticides (37.4%) et des spiraux anti‐moustiques (28.3%). Les moustiques ont été ciblés par 89.7% des ménages utilisant des insecticides en pulvérisateurs d'aérosols et > 99% des ménages utilisant des