Control of phlebotomine sand flies with vertical fine-mesh nets

Insecticide-treated vertical net barriers were used to intercept foraging sand flies. Two different nets were draped on fenced enclosures (10 by 10 m; 2 m high) in the central Jordan Valley. One enclosure was draped with a deltamethrin-impregnated net (PermaNet, 225 holes/in2). The holes of this net are sufficiently large to allow sand flies to pass through but not without coming in close contact with the mesh. The other enclosure was covered with SpiderNet+ (1,240 holes/in2) and sprayed with beta-cyfluthrin. Sand flies were captured inside and outside the enclosures before and after draping with the nets using CO2-baited CDC traps or CDC light traps. Both barrier types exhibited > 90% efficacy in blocking sand flies from entering the enclosures (P < 0.01). The Spider-Net+ exhibited high efficiency even before being sprayed with insecticide because the small mesh size physically prevented flies from passing through. In Ma'ale Adumim, a 60-m-long, 2-m-high PermaNet barrier was erected to intercept sand flies approaching houses from their natural habitats. Sand flies were monitored on all sides of the barrier using CO2-baited CDC traps or CDC light traps. Results showed a 60% reduction in the mean number of sand flies trapped behind the net compared with the untreated areas adjacent to it (P < 0.05). Integrated vector control campaigns for reducing the burden of sand fly bites should consider vertical fine-mesh nets to reduce the numbers of sand flies arriving at inhabited areas.