Transfluthrin Spatial Repellent on US Military Camouflage Netting Reduces Tabanids in a Warm-Temperate Environment

Abstract

We investigated the capability of transfluthrin on US military camouflage netting to reduce collections of tabanid biting flies in a warm-temperate field environment on the Gulf Coast of Florida. We found that transfluthrin significantly reduced collections of a variety of medically and veterinarily important tabanids inside protected areas by up to 96% upon initial treatment and up to 74% after 20 days posttreatment. These results suggest that transfluthrin could be an effective element in the US Department of Defense integrated pest management system and leveraged in civilian scenarios to protect livestock and humans from potential mechanical transmission of pathogens and disruption of activities caused by painful bites.

Point Protection with Transfluthrin against Musca domestica L. in a Semi-Field Enclosure

“…As mentioned in the methods section, we identified a concentration of transfluthrin to apply to the traps and afford a measure of protection to them. Our reliance on the application of 1 g of AI of transfluthrin divided among eight sachets of material was to allow a continuity and comparison of previously documented effects from pest and vector Diptera (Culex tarsalis Coquillett and Tabanid flies) exposed to the same concentration [7,15].…”

“…Eight sachets of formulated transfluthrin were placed on the lid, for a total of 1 g of active ingredient. An amount of 1 g was used as it was equivalent to prior experiments that targeted mosquito repellency utilizing 1 g/m 2 of HESCO or camouflage netting material [7,15]. Control sachets were replaced after every deployment, and transfluthrin sachets were used two times but rotated between traps.…”

Efficacy of the transfluthrin-based personal insect repellent kit (PIRK) against the ixodid ticks Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum and Dermacentor variabilis

“…Chemistries with known SR activity against insects include the volatile synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) metofluthrin and transfluthrin ( Arctec, 2020 ). Transfluthrin (TF) is an effective SR in indoor settings against different species of mosquitoes, flies and sand flies, and confers protection from biting ( Ogoma et al, 2017 ; Estrada et al, 2019 ; Mwanga et al, 2019 ; Britch et al, 2020a , b ; Masalu et al, 2020 ). Randomized-controlled trials also suggest the potential for epidemiological impact on VBDs ( Hill et al, 2014 ; Syafruddin et al, 2020 ).…”

Assessing transfluthrin mortality against Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus inside and outside US military tents in a northern Florida environment

“…Recent studies have shown that spatial repellents can be incorporated into integrated vector management (IVM) systems to protect personnel from arthropod disease vectors during USA military field operations ( Britch et al., 2020a , b ; 2021 ). These studies demonstrated that, similar to conventional residual sprays applied as barrier treatments, spatial repellents can protect defined areas from a variety of nuisance and disease vector biting arthropods in the field.…”