Residual effectiveness of lambda-cyhalothrin harbourage sprays against foliage-resting mosquitoes in north Queensland

The residual efficacy of lambda-cyhalothrin sprayed on foliage was evaluated against various mosquito species in sections of forest in Cairns, Queensland, Australia Weekly sweep-net collections in treated and untreated areas before and after spraying showed 87-100% reductions in mosquito numbers for the first 9 wk postspray. After that period, reductions fluctuated but remained >71% up to 14 wk posttreatment. Mosquito mortality ranged from 96 to 100% in contact bioassays of treated leaves during the 14 wk study. Our results demonstrate that spraying harborage vegetation with lambda-cyhalothrin is an extremely effective strategy for the control of sylvan and peridomestic mosquito species in tropical north Queensland.