Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2014) 28, 407-413

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D.J. Menger, J.J.A. Van Loon and W. Takken (2014)
Assessing the efficacy of candidate mosquito repellents against the background of an attractive source that mimics a human host
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 28 (4), 407-413
Abstract: Mosquito repellents are used around the globe to protect against nuisance biting and disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Recently, there has been renewed interest in the development of repellents as tools to control the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. We present a new bioassay for the accurate assessment of candidate repellent compounds, using a synthetic odour that mimics the odour blend released by human skin. Using DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) and PMD (p-menthane-3,8-diol) as reference compounds, nine candidate repellents were tested, of which five showed significant repellency to the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (Diptera: Culicidae). These included: 2-nonanone; 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one; linalool; delta-decalactone, and delta-undecalactone. The lactones were also tested on the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti (Stegomyia aegypti) (Diptera: Culicidae), against which they showed similar degrees of repellency. We conclude that the lactones are highly promising repellents, particularly because these compounds are pleasant-smelling, natural products that are also present in human food sources.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
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Database assignments for author(s): Willem Takken, Joop J.A. van Loon

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anopheles gambiae
	Aedes aegypti