A Comparison of Carbon Dioxide Sources for Mosquito Capture in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Light Traps on the Florida Gulf Coast

Traditional sources of carbon dioxide (CO2), dry ice, and compressed gas, were tested against 3 combinations of food-grade reagents known to generate CO2 using a compact, lightweight generator delivery system with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light traps. Three 6 × 6 Latin square trials were completed near the Florida Gulf Coast in the Lower Suwannee Wildlife Refuge during the summer of 2013, collecting a total of 31,632 female mosquitoes. Treatments included dry ice, compressed CO2 gas, a control trap (no CO2), citric acid + sodium bicarbonate, vinegar + sodium bicarbonate, and yeast + sugar. Decreasing order of trap collections (treatment mean number of mosquitoes per trap night ± standard error) were dry ice 773.5 (±110.1) > compressed gas 440.7 (±42.3) > citric acid + sodium bicarbonate 197.6 (±30.4), yeast + sugar 153.6 (±27.4) > vinegar + sodium bicarbonate 109.6 (±16.2) > control 82.4 (±14.0). A 2-way Kruskal-Wallis analysis by treatment, site, and treatment × site interaction identified significant differences between all treatments. Although dry ice and compressed CO2 gas collected significantly more mosquitoes than other combinations (P < 0.05), use of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate or yeast and sugar greatly outperformed unbaited traps and offer a good alternative to dry ice and compressed gas in areas where these agents are not readily available or are difficult to obtain due to logistical constraints. An inexpensive, portable CO2 generator for use with food-grade reagents is described.