Research
IRMCD Research and Development
Information about larvicide and adulticide research
performed by the IRMCD
IRMCD collaborates with researchers from:
The Public Health Entomology Research & Education Center
The Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory
Florida Department of Environmental Protection - Florida Park Service
Larvicide Research
Mosquito larvae laboratory bioassays are done using the World Health Organization (WHO) bioassay protocol
Replicated small plot outdoor trials are done onsite to evaluate current and new mosquito larvicides
Field trials are done to evaluate larvicide effects on mosquito larvae and non-target organisms
Research into Spray Technology and Adulticiding Formulations
IRMCD has also conducted extensive field tests of mosquito adulticides for our ULV spray trucks. These tests were done both in open fields and in dense citrus groves in order to quantify how far the spray mist would penetrate.
Rows of caged mosquitoes were placed at fixed distances from the road and the spray truck would then make a pass. The mosquitoes were then immediately transferred into clean cages so residue on the screening would not affect the results. The numbers of live and dead mosquitoes were counted the next morning.
To compensate for the effects of wind direction, angle and speed, IRMCD built a computer weather station that could be brought to the test site. Wind coming from an angle to the spray trucks path means that the spray droplets have to travel further before they intersect the mosquito cages. By tracking windspeed and direction second to second, we were able to minimize the effects of these factors on our test results and get a clearer picture of how distance affects the mosquito kill. We use this information in designing our evening spray routes.
The field tests were done in the mid 1980s. A variety of adulticides were evaluated at different dosages, different droplet sizes and we even checked to see if the height of the spray nozzles had an effect (some - the spray misses anything close to the road).
Every time the truck made a test pass, the exact amount of adulticiding chemical used and the air pressure in the spray unit were confirmed in order to ensure we got consistent, repeatable data.
The computerized weather station was built and programmed in-house since there were few commercial equivalents at that time - and they were expensive. By doing the programming ourselves, we created software that did exactly what we needed at a considerable savings. The computer used was called an “IBM Portable Computer” … but it weighed about 30 pounds. Essentially a heavy desktop PC with a built-in monitor and a two-handed carrying handle ; a far cry from the modern laptop. It had to be run from a vehicle with a DC/AC converter unit. No lithium battery packs back then.
The tests pictured here were done at the Indian River fairgrounds around 1988.