A comparative study between biological and chemical control against domestic mosquito larvae

Abstract

Abstract. Habiba G, Imen K, Rabeh C, Lina L. 2022. A comparative study between biological and chemical control against domestic mosquito larvae. Biodiversitas 23: 6456-6462. Mosquitoes are the first cause of transmission of viral diseases to both humans and animals, as they can transmit some viral diseases. These insects have attracted the attention of specialists, especially in the field of control, because they have controlled their spread in urban areas. Traditionally, they have resorted only to insecticides to eliminate them, and aquatic organisms have long been used to assess the health of aquatic systems. Extensive use of pesticides in agricultural and public health programs has caused many environmental problems and toxic effects on aquatic animals, especially non-target organisms. Hence, this method has negative effects. Later, another method appeared called "biological control", which is based on natural predators. The current study aims to compare the use of biological and chemical control in eliminating mosquito larvae without causing any damage to the ecosystem. Therefore, two studies were conducted. The first is biological control by placing water mites with local mosquito larvae and measuring mite mortality, while the second study deals with chemical control. The rust solution was tested on mosquito larvae at different doses of 0.5mL/L, 2.5mL/L, and 4.5 mL/L. The results proved the effectiveness of biological control compared to chemical control. Finally, these findings will greatly contribute to both the agricultural and medical fields that infect this insect, as well as enrich the literature for future research in mosquitoes.