A novel window entry/exit trap for the study of endophilic behavior of mosquitoes

A new glue net trap, for catching mosquitoes attempting to enter and exit human homes, was developed and field tested in Mali. An. gambiae s.l. caught on a glue net trap. [Display omitted] •We developed a new mosquito entry/exit trap that is economical, easily transported and assembled.•Traps consisted of glue-painted green plastic netting held in place by plywood frames.•Traps caught >95% of mosquitoes in laboratory testing using Culex pipiens and Anopheles gambiae.•In field trials in Mali, traps were highly effective at trapping entering and exiting An. gambiae s.l.•Mosquitoes are trapped live and can be used for further biochemical, molecular or viral analyses. To overcome the limitations of currently used window entry/exit traps, we developed an efficient new glue net entry/exit trap (GNT) that is economical, easily transported and assembled, and can be utilized for a variety of studies which aim to investigate the dynamics of mosquito movements between indoor and outdoor habitats. Cage experiments were conducted to determine what percentage of mosquitoes trying to pass through the netting are actually being caught. The GNT caught 97% of female and 98% of male Anopheles gambiae s.s., as well as 97.5% of female and 98% of male Culex pipiens attempting to cross into a bait chamber adjoining the release cage. During a six day field study, the bedroom windows of 12 homes in Mali were fitted with entry/exit GNTs. Traps without glue were fitted over the inside and outside bedroom windows of an additional 12 homes as a control. A total of 446 An. gambiae s.l. were caught attempting to exit dwellings while 773 An. gambiae s.l. were caught attempting to enter. The number of males and females attempting to exit dwellings were roughly similar (215 and 231 respectively) while there was a slight difference in the number of males and females trying to enter (382 and 430 respectively). Pyrethrum spray catches (PSC’s) conducted inside the dwellings on the last day of the experiment yielded only six females and a single male.