ECU Environmental Health and other students are involved this summer in conducting field and lab research project lead by Dr. Stephanie Richards as the principal investigator, and funded by Syngenta.  The purpose of the project is to test the efficacy of different formulations of a single insecticide on reducing the population of container-dwelling mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus, in Cherry Oaks, a Pitt County neighborhood.  Twelve homes were chosen in the neighborhood based on similarity in landscape and ability to house container-dwelling mosquito species, and were groups into 3 treatment groups (sprayed with 3 different formulations each) and 1 control group (no sprayed insecticide). The research project began on May 17, 2017 and will last approximately 21 weeks until mid-October 2017. At the completion of the study, the effects of the insecticide on population numbers of Aedes albopictus, fecundity,  and viability of mosquito eggs will be analyzed.

The students performs various activities, such as the setting of BG sentinel mosquito traps for Aedes albopictus, counting and identification to species of field-collected mosquitoes, counting of mosquito eggs, and maintenance of mosquito colonies in the lab.  In the field, they setup the mosquito traps in the Cherry Oaks neighborhood in Greenville, NC, and then retrieves them after 24 hours.