The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), is a highly invasive container-inhabiting species with a global distribution. This mosquito, similar to other Stegomyia species such as Aedes aegypti (L.), is highly adapted to urban and suburban areas, and commonly oviposits in artificial containers, which are ubiquitous in these peridomestic environments. The increase in speed and amount of international travel and commerce, coupled with global climate change, have aided in the resurgence and expansion of Stegomyia species into new areas of North America. In many parts of their range, both species are implicated as significant vectors of emerging and re-emerging arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and now Zika. Although rapid and major advances have been made in the field of biology, ecology, genetics, taxonomy, and virology, relatively little has changed in the field of mosquito control in recent decades. This is particularly discouraging in regards to container-inhabiting mosquitoes, because traditional integrated mosquito management (IMM) approaches have not been effective against these species. Many mosquito control programs simply do not possess the man-power or necessary financial resources needed to suppress Ae. albopictus effectively. Therefore, control of mosquito larvae, which is the foundation of IMM approaches, is exceptionally difficult over large areas. This review paper addresses larval habitats, use of geographic information systems for habitat preference detection, door-to-door control efforts, source reduction, direct application of larvicides, biological control agents, area-wide low-volume application of larvicides, hot spot treatments, autodissemination stations, public education, adult traps, attractive–toxic sugar bait methods, lethal ovitraps, barrier–residual adulticides, hand-held ultra-low-volume adulticides, area-wide adulticides applied by ground or air, and genetic control methods. The review concludes with future recommendations for practitioners, researchers, private industry, and policy makers.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a public health educational campaign to reduce backyard mosquito-larval habitats. Three communities each, within two New Jersey counties, were randomly selected to receive: (1) both education and mosquito control, (2) education only, and (3) no education or mosquito control. Four separate educational events included a 5-day elementary school curriculum in the spring, and three door to door distributions of educational brochures. Before and after each educational event, the numbers of mosquito-larval container habitats were counted in 50 randomly selected homes per study area. Container surveys allowed us to measure source reduction behavior. Although we saw reductions in container habitats in sites receiving education, they were not significantly different from the control. Our results suggest that traditional passive means of public education, which were often considered the gold standard for mosquito control programs, are not sufficient to motivate residents to reduce backyard mosquito-larval habitats.

Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, is an aggressive, highly anthropophilic, day-biting mosquito with an expanding geographic range. Suppression of Ae. albopictus is difficult because of the abundance and prevalence of larval habitats within peridomestic environments, particularly cryptic habitats such as corrugated extension spouts, fence post openings, discarded food containers, etc. Because of the challenges of eliminating or treating larval habitats of this species, we tested an autodissemination concept to contaminate these habitats with the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen. Our study was conducted in the City of Trenton (Mercer County), New Jersey, USA (40°12′N, 74°44′W). We selected six hot spots, where five or more Ae. albopictus males or females were collected based on weekly trap surveillance. A trapping unit was a city block, approximately 0.8 ha (hot spot), where we deployed 26 to 28 autodissemination stations per treatment plot. To gauge efficacy, we deployed BGS traps, oviposition cups, and sentinel cups in treatment and control locations. We found a significant reduction in eggs (P < 0.0001) and larval populations (P < 0.0001) as a result of treatment. Pupal mortality, as determined through bioassays, was also significantly higher in the treatment sites (P < 0.0001). Our results clearly show the potential and unique use of the autodissemination stations to control immature Ae. albopictus in urban areas. Penetration of larvicides with existing methods are difficult to reach cryptic habitats, but the autodissemination approach, which exploits the oviposition behavior of the target pest, can be integrated into intervention programs. New tools are urgently needed to curb the expansion and public health implications of Ae. albopictus and other container-inhabiting species.

The primary sources of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in its exotic range in North America are artificial containers in backyards, which vary widely in accessibility. In this study we examined their prevalence in two container types that are difficult to inspect: catch basins and corrugated extension spouts (CES), the latter used to divert rainwater in downspouts away from house foundations. We conducted larval and pupal surveys in catch basins, CES and open containers such as buckets and plant saucers in three urban locations in Mercer County, New Jersey, USA. We found that Ae. albopictus were rare in catch basins but prevalent in CES, and were often the only species collected in CES. Specific characteristics of the CES were not significantly associated with the presence or number of Ae. albopictus in them, but those longer and closer to the ground were significantly more likely to contain water, and therefore mosquitoes. During peak season (July-August), the abundance of immature Ae. albopictus was significantly higher in CES than open containers. We found that CES are an important source of Ae. albopictus in our region and propose that effective control strategies should be implemented to minimize mosquito populations from these cryptic habitats.

Effective suppression of container-inhabiting Asian Tiger [Aedes albopictus (Skuse)] (Diptera: Culicidae) and yellow fever [Aedes aegypti (L.)] (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes presents one of the most intractable problems for modern mosquito control. Traditional tools often fail to control populations of these mosquito species, and are prohibitively expensive or have negative environmental impacts. Novel approaches and tools are urgently needed for integrated container-inhabiting mosquito management programs. One of the most promising techniques is autodissemination. We present the results of a long-term large-scale study conducted in a temperate urbanized environment representing typical Ae. albopictus habitats. Three treatment sites with autodissemination stations and three nearby reference sites were monitored for eggs, immature, and adult mosquitoes over a period of 3 yr from 2014 to 2016. Elevated larval and pupal mortality of 12–19% on average was the most notable outcome in sentinel cups of the treatment sites. The number of eggs in the treatment sites was significantly reduced in 2014, but not in 2015 or 2016. Adult populations remained similar in treatment and reference sites throughout the study. The impact of autodissemination on mosquito populations was lower than reported by previous investigations. Technical and logistical problems associated with wider coverage and working in multiple urban neighborhoods contributed to reduced efficacy. Incorporating autodissemination with routine mosquito control operations and commercializing this methodology for general public use will require further research on combining this tool with other novel or conventional technologies.