In recent years, the BG-Sentinel trap has proved to be an effective mechanism for capturing large numbers of Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes such as Ae. aegypti[1], Ae. polynesiensis[2] – the primary filariasis vector in the South Pacific – and Ae. albopictus[3]. 

This trap doesn’t use a light source and instead uses a variety of mosquito attractants including CO₂, 1-Octen-3-ol and BG™-lure making it a versatile tool for mosquito surveillance. Wilke et al.[4] tested two of these lures in Miami State, Florida and found that BG-Sentinel traps baited with CO2 caught significantly more mosquitoes than those baited with just BG-Lure when adjusted for time and species, enabling a more accurate representation of the relative abundance of vector mosquitoes. 

There is little evidence evaluating whether the use of the BG-Sentinel trap translates into reduction in biting pressure. One study[4] reviewed the effectiveness of the BG-Sentinel trap along with CDC light trap and an ovitrap in the Guangzhou province of China using a Latin square design; where each trap is rotated to a different location exactly once per replicate. It concluded that the BG-Sentinel trap was the most effective amongst the three traps at sampling adult Ae. aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. It was also most sensitive at monitoring the population density of Ae. albopictus particularly during the peak season in June to October. 

The BG-Sentinel trap is an effective tool in the arsenal of vector surveillance and control particularly with day-biting Aedes species and in arbovirus-endemic settings. 

 

References

  1. Maciel-de-Freitas R, Eiras ÁE, Lourenço-de-Oliveira R. Field evaluation of effectiveness of the BG-Sentinel, a new trap for capturing adult Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 2006 May;101(3):321-5.
    http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0074-02762006000300017&script=sci_arttext&tlng=es

  2. Schmaedick MA, Ball TS, Burkot TR, Gurr NE. Evaluation of Three Traps for Sampling Aedes polynesiensis and Other Mosquito Species in American Samoa1. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 2008 Jun;24(2):319-23.
    https://www.bg-sentinel.com/downloads/Schmaedick_et_al-2008-Evaluation_of_3_traps_for_sampling_Ae_polynesiensis_and_other_species_in_American_Samoa.pdf  

  3. Bhalala H, Arias JR. The Zumba™ mosquito trap and BG-Sentinel™ trap: novel surveillance tools for host-seeking mosquitoes. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 2009 Jun;25(2):134-40.
    https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-the-american-mosquito-control-association/volume-25/issue-2/08-5821.1/The-Zumba-Mosquito-Trap-and-Bg-Sentinel-Trap--Novel/10.2987/08-5821.1.full 

  4. Wilke AB, Carvajal A, Medina J, Anderson M, Nieves VJ, Ramirez M, Vasquez C, Petrie W, Cardenas G, Beier JC. Assessment of the effectiveness of BG-Sentinel traps baited with CO2 and BG-Lure for the surveillance of vector mosquitoes in Miami-Dade County, Florida. PloS one. 2019 Feb 22;14(2):e0212688.
    https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0212688

  5. Li Y, Su X, Zhou G, Zhang H, Puthiyakunnon S, Shuai S, Cai S, Gu J, Zhou X, Yan G, Chen XG. Comparative evaluation of the efficiency of the BG-Sentinel trap, CDC light trap and Mosquito-oviposition trap for the surveillance of vector mosquitoes. Parasites & vectors. 2016 Dec;9(1):446.
    https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-016-1724-x