Suppression of larval Aedes aegypti populations in household water storage containers in Jakarta, Indonesia, through releases of first-instar Toxorhynchites splendens larvae

Abstract

Weekly releases of first-instar Toxorhynchites splendens larvae were made in household water storage containers in a neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, between April 1987 and April 1988. A single larva was placed in each container surveyed. Forty-one percent of all containers in the treatment area were treated each week and the average container was treated once every 2.4 weeks. Aedes aegypti populations were suppressed but not controlled by treatment. It is hypothesized that first-instar Toxorhynchites larvae were poor control agents due to their inability to withstand periods of starvation and to their accidental removal from containers during the act of water consumption.