He’s the number one public enemy every summer, the one everyone wants to kill and even exterminate to the last. This is obviously the mosquito. But in recent years, the common mosquito has suffered a little less the wrath of human beings because on the altar of hatred, it has been replaced by its cousin: the tiger mosquito.
Extremely invasive, this mosquito has already colonized half of France and could have invaded the whole of Europe by 2030. Beyond the itching it causes, the main problem with mosquitoes is the viruses that it causes. it transports, causing diseases that have sometimes disappeared from certain areas and which reappear through its fault, such as malaria or chikungunya for example.
Getting rid of it is extremely complicated and Mediterranean areas are particularly conducive to its proliferation. While insecticides and other citronella candles can help to have a quiet evening, they are not sustainable solutions. So to help the inhabitants of three municipalities around Montpellier, the Interdepartmental Agreement for Mosquito Control (EID) offers to install the Vectrap device free of charge.
Developed by EID researchers, this mass trap targets the problem at its source: reproduction. Yvon Perrin, Vectrap project manager, explains how it works: “The females will be attracted to the device and will only be able to enter through this opening, but they will not have access to water due to the presence of a net and will not be able to lay eggs. Then they’re going to run into a sticky card trying to get out and that’s how they’re going to be captured. ”
#EXPERIMENTATION
Project #VECTRAP : massive trapping to fight against #mosquito in 3 towns: #Clapiers @CastelnauleLez # Saint ClémentdeRivière@ird_fr @Anses_fr @MIVEGEC @EHESP @CTM_Martinique
Learn ➕ https://t.co/MaW56tnU2y– EID Mediterranean (@EIDMediterranee) July 2, 2021
This experiment will last three years, the time to see what improvements can be made to Vectrap and what are its impacts. The inhabitants fortunate who benefit from this mosquito trap must simply complete a questionnaire and follow the information leaflet. After the three summer months, the device will be removed and reinstalled the following year. “The idea of the Vectrap project is to see to what extent mass trapping can contribute to limiting the proliferation of the mosquito. It’s something that is not yet described or known so we have a three-year project to experiment with different approaches ”, develops Grégory L’Ambert, head of methods and research at EID.
In all, 400 traps were installed in the municipalities of Castelnau-le-Lez, Clapiers and Saint-Clément-de-Rivière. Jean-Pierre, an inhabitant who now has Vectrap in his garden, is delighted: “We put on mosquito nets, we put products on the body, anti-mosquito sockets but I’m not a big fan of these solutions so I admit that I’m very happy that we have taken a slightly more ecological approach.” And while you wait to have Vectrap in your garden, you can follow EID’s advice.
️#MediaPlanning Start of the promotion of the prevention campaign #ZeroEclosionZeroInvasion against the #Moustiquetigre in the action zone in @Occitanie :
✔️ Awareness
✔️ Action collective
water = mosquito #zero mosquito #CheckList #LundiMotivation pic.twitter.com/LbCJeZmJdR– EID Mediterranean (@EIDMediterranee) June 14, 2021
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