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Biogents – Science for Your Protection –
  • No other mosquito traps has such a strong scientific proof for its effectiveness: The exceptional capture rates of the Biogents traps are documented in more than 300 scientific publications

Scientific foundation and publications

Biogents’ mosquito traps were invented by scientists who have been doing research on the behaviour of mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects for over 16 years. Useful applications and a number of patents have resulted from sound fundamental research at the University of Regensburg.

The BG-Sentinel became one of the leading traps for monitoring tiger mosquitoes and other species within just a few years after its invention in 2004. There are over 400 scientific publications in which Biogents traps were used. Our traps helped in many investigations such as monitoring the spread of invasive species, mosquito dispersion, acitivity patterns, seasonality, infection rates, species composition and many more. One important application is the use of the BG-Sentinel trap as a monitoring tool to evaluate the effect of mosquito control efforts. This proves that scientists world-wide trust in Biogents traps for the collection of important mosquito surveillance data.

The traps that were originally designed for surveillance purposes, have been increasingly used as an alternative mosquito control measure. For example, in a study in Italy, mosquito bites were reduced by 85 % in areas with Biogents traps (see this and more examples below in the tab “Control”).

In the following section, you find

Control Effect

Mosquito control with Biogents traps (summaries of selected studies)

 

PDF Download selected studies that show the control effect of Biogents traps as a PDF >

Knols et al. 2023: Rapid Elimination of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus Mosquitoes from Puerco Island, Palawan, Philippines with Odor-Baited Traps

Summary

Biogents traps have previously been shown to be a suitable, pesticide-free alternative for mosquito control. High-density trapping is an environmentally friendly, pesticide-free, cost-effective, and mosquito-specific approach to control or eliminate mosquito nuisance biting and disease risk for people living in (small) islands in the tropics.

In this study, Biogents traps were used on a small island in the Philippines. Using BG-Mosquitaire CO2 traps resulted in a fast decline in populations of two mosquito species (Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus). Within five months, the mosquitoes were eliminated.

This is the second time that odor-baited traps have succeeded in eliminating mosquitoes from a small tropical island.

Figure 1. Location of Puerco Island, Palawan, Philippines. A) Map of the Philippines, showing the location of Palawan. B) Satellite image of Puerco Island. Source: Knols et al. 2023.

 

Details

  • Mass trapping treatment: 10 Biogents BG-Mosquitaire CO2 traps per hectare
  • Larval source management (limited in scope): breeding sites for mosquitoes were inspected and removed where possible. Occasionally, tablets containing the larvicide Spinosad (NatularTM) were used in water tanks or other water collections that could not be removed.

The figure below shows the average number of mosquitoes collected in surveillance traps per day. You can observe:

  • The mosquito density decreased very fast.
  • The number of collected mosquitoes was constantly zero or close to zero about three months after the control measures started.
  • Heavy rainfall (vertical blue lines) did not lead to an increase or re-appearance of mosquitoes.
Figure 2. Average number of mosquitoes caught per day per monitoring trap between 13 July and 25 March 2023 on Puerco Island, Palawan, Philippines. Blue bars show rainfall (in mm) per day. Source: Knols et al. 2023.

Read more in the original publication:

Knols et al. 2023. Rapid Elimination of Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus Mosquitoes from Puerco Island, Palawan, Philippines with Odor-Baited Traps.

 

Jahir et al. 2022: Mass Trapping with Biogents traps and Larval Source Management for Mosquito Elimination on Small Maldivian Islands

Summary

Insecticides have been used for decades for mosquito control. However, strong impact on non-target organisms and the development of resistances in the mosquito population are forcing pest control operators to apply insecticide-free and eco-friendly control methods.

This was also the case on a Maldivian island of 41 hectares. The island is covered with dense tropical jungle and is the location of Soneva Fushi, a high-end luxury villa resort. Over two decades, insecticides were sprayed almost daily by a pest control company to reduce mosquito nuisance caused by Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) and southern house mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus). Soneva Fushi ended the contract with the pest control company, as the mosquitoes became resistant to the used insecticides (permethrin and deltamethrin). This means that the used insecticides did not kill the mosquitoes anymore.

The eco-friendly mosquito control approach based on the use of Biogents BG-Mosquitaire CO2 traps, Biogents BG-GAT traps, and removal of breeding sites resulted in the near elimination of the mosquito population.

Additionally, within 1.5 years without insecticide spraying, several beneficial insect species (bumble bees, carpenter bees, dragonflies, butterflies) that had disappeared from the island due to extensive insecticide use, have returned. Furthermore, the mosquito control approach with Biogents traps and larval source management was significantly cheaper than the previously applied insecticide-based approach.

 

Figure 1. Location of Kunfunadhoo island: Google Earth satellite image (imagery date 27 December 2018). Source: Jahir et al. 2022.

Details

  • Mass trapping treatment: 6 BG-Mosquitaire CO2 traps per hectare and 7.2 BG-GAT traps per hectare.
  • Larval source management: Habitat manipulation (construction of roofs, lids of septic tanks sealed), 2 clean-up campaigns (removal of potential breeding sites), larviciding (neem oil applied on water surfaces).

The following heatmaps show areas with high (red) and low (green) Aedes albopictus catches from July 2019 to March 2020. Due to the control activities (mass trapping with Biogents mosquito traps and larval source management), the presence of Asian tiger mosquitoes sharply declined at all areas of the island (less red and more green-coloured area in the map over time).

Figure 2. Inverse distance weighted heatmaps of Aedes albopictus showing areas with high (red) or low (green) mosquito catches by month for the period June 2019–June 2020. Source: Jahir et al. 2022.

 

Read more in the original publication

Jahir A, Kahamba NF, Knols TO, Jackson G, Patty NFA, Shivdasani S, Okumu FO, Knols BGJ. Mass Trapping and Larval Source Management for Mosquito Elimination on Small Maldivian Islands. Insects 2022, 13, 805. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13090805

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Johnson et al. (2018): Neighbors help neighbors control urban mosquitoes

Summary

Government-led programs to control dengue have often failed. Urban Aedes mosquitoes such as the yellow fever mosquito Ae. aegypti and the Asian tiger mosquito Ae. albopictus mainly breed in small containers on private properties. They are therefore a great species to be targeted by control programs that strongly rely on citizen participation.

The town of University Park, MD, USA used the BG-GAT traps in a citizen-based mosquito control intervention. The town is highly infested with Ae. albopictus and comprises approximately 1000 residential yards.

Almost half of the town’s residential yards (439 of 954) were equipped with BG-GATs. Results indicate effective mosquito control, however, the reduction of mosquito nuisance was significantly higher in blocks where more than 80% of households used BG-GAT traps (figure 1).

Details

The approach named Citizen Action through Science (Citizen AcTS) is based on citizen volunteers that are mentored by scientific advisors. Residents were encouraged to purchase two BG-GAT traps (one for the front and one for the back yard). Each block of houses had a community leader that informed their neighbors about the initiative. Every participant was responsible for the installation and maintenance of the purchased traps.

 

Figure 1 Mean (±SE) female Ae. albopictus abundance during each collection point in high (≥80%) and low (<80%) coverage monitoring sites. Different letters or presence of ’**’ indicate statistical significance between observations (P < 0.05). Source: Johnson et al. 2018.

 

Read more about the results in the publication:

Johnson BJ, Brosch D, Christiansen A, Wells E, Wells M, Bhandoola AF, Milne A, Garrison S, Fonseca DM. 2018. Neighbors help neighbors control urban mosquitoes. Sci Rep. 8(1):15797. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34161-9.

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Akhoundi et al., 2018: Effectiveness of a field trap barrier system for controlling Aedes albopictus: a “removal trapping” strategy

Summary

Aedes albopictus causes high nuisance in residential yards. A scientific study from southern France demonstrated the potential of Biogents traps to significantly reduce the number of received Asian tiger mosquito bites to almost zero.

Details

Three houses with garden were treated with a network of BG-Mosquitaire CO2 traps for three months during the peak activity season of Ae. albopictus. The average distance between the traps was five meters. Three treated properties received 9, 13, and 18 traps, depending on their size (Fig. 1a-c). The trap network is called “Bio-Belt Anti-Moustique” and was patented by the French company HBM Distribution SAS.

 

Biobelt traps installation in the treated houses. a-c Spatial schematic depiction of the array of the “belt” of traps around three treated houses, prospected in the area Modules- traps are shown in green. The area protected by the barrier is hatched

Fig 1: Biobelt traps installation in the treated houses. a-c Spatial schematic depiction of the array of the “belt” of traps around three treated houses, prospected in the area Modules- traps are shown in green. The area protected by the barrier is hatched

The number of received mosquito bites in outdoor areas of the three treated houses was compared to the number of mosquito bites in three untreated houses with similar environments.

The effect of the trap barrier is immediately visible from the time when traps were turned on (vertical dashed line in Fig. 2). After three weeks of continuous trapping, the number of mosquito bites was substantially reduced in the houses that were protected by traps in comparison to untreated houses. After six weeks, the number of bites decreased to almost zero.

The number of mosquito bites in the treated gardens was up to 93% lower than in the three houses without traps.

Weekly mean Ae. albopictus biting pressure in three houses with BG-Sentinel trap barrier system and in three untreated control houses in southern France, July – Sept 2016. The dashed vertical line indicates when the trap barrier system was turned on.

Fig. 2: Weekly mean number of Ae. albopictus bites per 30 minutes in three houses with BG-Sentinel trap barrier system and in three houses without traps in southern France, July – Sept 2016. The dashed vertical line indicates when the trap barrier system was turned on.

Read more about the results in the publication:

Akhoundi M, Jourdain F, Chandre F, Delaunay P, Roiz D. 2018. Effectiveness of a field trap barrier system for controlling Aedes albopictus: a “removal trapping” strategy. Parasit Vectors. 11(1):101. doi:10.1186/s13071-018-2691-1.

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Englbrecht et al. 2015: Reduction of Aedes albopictus nuisance in Italy.

Summary

In Europe, Italy is one of the countries that are heavily infested with the day-active Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus). This study showed that it is possible to reduce biting rates and local populations of Aedes albopictus in Cesena, Italy, by using Biogents suction traps.

 

Details

For the experiment, three small intervention sites with different characteristics were selected:

  • A single-family house surrounded by a garden.
  • An area dominated by apartment houses.
  • A cemetery.

The mosquito biting pressure (number of mosquito bites per hour) in the three areas was compared to those in three untreated similar environments by human landing collections (the lower legs of an investigator were exposed to mosquitoes, and landing mosquitoes were collected, identified, and counted).

The study duration was 16 weeks from June to October. From the beginning of the study, the biting pressure was lower in areas with Biogents suction traps, but after five weeks, the effect of trapping on mosquito nuisance became more evident.

Over the course of the whole study, an average of 11.2 Ae. albopictus per hour were collected by human landing collections in areas without Biogents traps, while only an average of 1.4 Ae. albopictus per hour were collected in areas with Biogents traps. This means that the overall biting pressure in intervention areas was reduced by 87% (Fig. 1).

 

Mean number of Aedes albopictus bites per hour in human landing collection at three intervention sites treated with Biogents traps, and three similar sites without traps in Cesena, Italy.
Figure 1. Mean number of Aedes albopictus bites per hour in human landing collection at three intervention sites treated with Biogents traps, and three similar sites without traps in Cesena, Italy.

 

Read more about the results in the publication:

Englbrecht C, Gordon S, Venturelli C, Rose A, Geier M. 2015. Evaluation of BG-Sentinel Trap as a Management Tool to Reduce Aedes albopictus Nuisance in an Urban Environment in Italy. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 31(1):16–25. doi:10.2987/14-6444.1.

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Degener et al. 2014: Mass trapping of Dengue Vectors with BG-Sentinel Traps

Summary

Aedes aegypti, the main vector of viral diseases such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya is highly adapted to urban areas. Routinely employed dengue vector control strategies that usually consist of the reduction of breeding sites and application of insecticides have failed to control virus transmission in most settings, including Brazil. This long-term study shows that Biogents suction traps can reduce the abundance of Aedes aegypti in urban settings.

Details

Six mass trapping areas (areas where on average 60% of households received a Biogents suction trap for constant mosquito trapping) and six control areas (areas without trapping intervention) were selected in the same neighborhood. The mass trapping areas included a total of 734 houses, 444 of which accepted a Biogents suction trap for constant use, and the control areas comprised 753 houses. The effect of the intervention was monitored by installing four BG-Sentinel monitoring traps in all six intervention and all six control areas for 24 h once every two weeks.

The study that was co-financed by the world-bank was conducted over 18 months in Manaus, Brazil.

Monitoring indicated that the mass trapping intervention significantly reduced the abundance of adult female Ae. aegypti during the first five rainy months of the study. Additionally, recent dengue infections were less common in participating houses of mass trapping areas.

The majority (88%) of 235 inhabitants from the mass trapping areas that participated in a questionnaire reported that the trap perceptibly reduced both mosquito density and nuisance.

 

Comparison of mean numbers of collected female Aedes aegypti in monitoring traps in six mass trapping areas and six reference areas (areas without trapping intervention) before trap installation and during the first rainy season of the long-term study.
Figure 1. Comparison of mean numbers of collected female Aedes aegypti in monitoring traps in six mass trapping areas and six reference areas (areas without trapping intervention) before trap installation and during the first rainy season of the long-term study.

 

Read more about the results in the publication:
Degener CM, Eiras E, Zara TMF, Roque RA, Rösner S, Codeço CT, Nobre AA, Rocha ESO, Kroon EG, Ohly JJ, et al. 2014. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Mass Trapping With BG-Sentinel Traps for Dengue Vector Control: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Manaus, Brazil. J Med Entomol. 51(2):408–420. doi:10.1603/ME13107.

PDF PDF 2014/03/27 press release >
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1400 households, 450 Biogents traps, uncounted dengue mosquitoes - a long-term study in Manaus, Brazil

Monitoring

Mosquito monitoring with Biogents traps (summaries of selected studies)

 

Evaluation of the New Modular Biogents BG-Pro Mosquito Trap

The new BG-Pro is a modular trap that can be used in different styles. It comes with a number of accessories (UV-LED light strip with intensity peak at 375 nm, rain cover, and internal tripod) that allow the user to hang the trap, similar to the CDC and EVS traps, or place it on the ground like a BGS. Results of a study that was performed in 7 countries show that the performance of the BG-pro trap is at least as good as the BG-Sentinel, The BG-Mosquitaire, the CDC miniature light trap, and the EVS trap in head-to-head comparisons. Furthermore, the new trap uses 35% less power than the CDC and 75% less power than the BG-Sentinel or BG-Mosquitaire trap. Therefore, it can run at only 5V for 2 days using a rechargeable power bank. This lightweight trap has several operational advantages and is therefore an excellent alternative for the surveillance of mosquito species that are usually monitored with BG-Sentinel, CDC, or EVS traps.

Read more about the results in the publication:

Degener CM, Staunton KM, Bossin H, Marie J, Diogo da Silva R, Lima DC , Eiras AE, Akaratovic KI, Kiser J, Gordon SW. (2021). Evaluation of the New Modular Biogents BG-Pro Mosquito Trap in Comparison to CDC, EVS, BG-Sentinel, and BG-Mosquitaire Traps. J Am Mosq Control Assoc 1 December 2021; 37 (4): 224–241.

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Degener et al. 2019: Field tests of mosquito lures and traps

The growing spread of the invasive mosquito species Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) increases the complexity of mosquito control. In contrast to several other mosquito species that are found in the home environment, such as the house mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, the container-inhabiting tiger mosquitoes are day-active. Adulticidal operations at daytime are not feasible and reaching all breeding sites in larviciding operations is practically impossible. Many home owners use mosquito traps to reduce mosquito populations in their backyards. Several traps with different attraction mechanisms and price categories are commercially available, but most of these traps were not scientifically proven to be effective.

The Biogents BG-Sentinel trap has been used by researchers all over the world for over a decade to monitor dengue vectors and is generally recognized as the gold standard mosquito trap for yellow fever and Asian tiger mosquitoes. The trap uses the BG-Sweetscent, an artificial human skin scent that contains lactic acid. The BG-Sentinel can additionally be operated with CO2 to increase catch rates and species spectrum. The commercially available BG-Mosquitaire trap uses the same mosquito attraction and collecting mechanisms as the BG-Sentinel, but instead of being lightweight and collapsible for scientific or public health purposes, it was designed to be more robust and visually pleasing, for use in fixed positions throughout the whole mosquito season in backyards, restaurants, hotels, and similar locations.

The study answered three questions:

1) Do tiger mosquito catch rates of other commercially available mosquito traps increase when adding the BG-sweetscent lure?
Yes – catch rates of tiger mosquitoes in different UV light mosquito traps increased up to 4.2-fold.

Results of a study in Gainsville, Fl, USA with the BG-Sweetscent and several commercially available traps. The catch rates for tiger mosquitoes could be improved by up to 4.2 fold when BG-Sweetscent was added to the traps.

Fig 1. Biogents BG-Sweetscent increases Asian tiger mosquito catch rates in commercially available mosquito traps.

2) Is the commercially available BG-Mosquitaire trap as good as the professional BG-Sentinel trap?
Yes, there was no statistical difference between the Ae. aegypti and the Culex quinquefasciatus catch rates of the two traps, neither when tested with (Fig. 2 A), nor without CO2.

Boxplots of Aedes aegypti (female and male) catches in BG-Mosquitaire and BG-Sentinel traps (A) in Clovis, CA, and (B) New Orleans. The same letters indicate insignificant different catch rates.

Fig 2. Boxplots of Aedes aegypti (female and male) catches in BG-Mosquitaire and BG-Sentinel traps (A) in Clovis,CA, and (B) New Orleans. The same letters indicate insignificant different catch rates.

3) Is the BG-Mosquitaire trap with and without CO2 better than two other mosquito traps that need to be obligatorily operated with CO2?
Without CO2, the BG-Mosquitaire with BG-Sweetscent is already as good as the Mosquito Magnet Patriot, and better than the SkeeterVac SV3100. With CO2, the BG-Mosquitaire collects seven to twelve times more Ae. albopictus than the other two traps

 

Boxplots of (A) Aedes albopictus (female and male) in 4 different mosquito traps in Lake Charles, LA. Please note that 2 outliers (302 and 523 Ae. albopictus in the BG-Mosquitaire+Sweetscent+CO2) are not shown in order to facilitate visual comparison between boxes. Different letters indicate significantly different catch rates.

Fig. 3. Boxplots of (A) Aedes albopictus (female and male) in 4 different mosquito traps in Lake Charles, LA. Please note that 2 outliers (302 and 523 Ae. albopictus in the BG-Mosquitaire+Sweetscent+CO2) are not shown in order to facilitate visual comparison between boxes. Different letters indicate significantly different catch rates.

Read more about the results in the publication:

Degener CM, Geier M, Kline DAN, Urban J, Willis S. 2019. Field trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the BG-Sweetscent lure in combination with several commercial mosquito traps and to assess the effectiveness of the BG-Mosquitaire trap with and without carbon dioxide. 35(1):32–39. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34161-9.

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Multiyear Surveillance for Aedes albopictus with Biogents Sentinel Trap Counts for Males and Species Composition of Other Mosquito Species

40 to 50 BGS traps were utilized during an intensive 5-year surveillance as part of an ‘Area-wide Management Program for the Asian Tiger Mosquito’ in NJ, USA. The results are now published. The authors say that the Biogents Sentinel (BGS) trap is a very effective tool to monitor adult populations of Aedes albopictus and that although BGS traps are becoming the gold standard instrument for Ae. albopictus surveillance, they can also be used to collect other important mosquito species, which can enhance existing vector surveillance programs.

Read more about the results in the publication:
Unlu I, Farajollahi A. 2014. A multiyear surveillance for Aedes albopictus with Biogents Sentinel Trap counts for males and species composition of other mosquito species. J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 30(2):122–125. doi:10.2987/14-6401.1.

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Comparison of 4 traps used for mosquito monitoring and surveillance programs: The BG-Sentinel trap is probably the best solution

Four different traps, Biogents Sentinel trap (BG trap), Heavy Duty Encephalitis Vector Survey trap (EVS trap), Centres for Disease Control miniature light trap (CDC trap) and Mosquito Magnet Patriot Mosquito trap (MM trap) were compared in a 4×4 latin square study. In the years 2012 and 2013, more than seventy 24-hour trap comparisons were conducted at ten different locations in northern and southern Germany, representing urban, forest and floodplain biotopes.

Conclusion: The autors say that the BG trap showed a significantly better or similar performance compared to the CDC, EVS or MM trap with regard to trapping efficacy for most common mosquito species in Germany, including diversity of mosquito species and number of mosquitoes per trapping period. Thus, they say, the BG trap is probably the best solution for general monitoring or surveillance programs of adult mosquitoes in Central Europe.

Read more about the results in the publication:
Lühken R, Pfitzner WP, Börstler J, Garms R, Huber K, Schork N, Steinke S, Kiel E, Becker N, Tannich E, et al. 2014. Field evaluation of four widely used mosquito traps in Central Europe. Parasites and Vectors. 7(1). doi:10.1186/1756-3305-7-268.

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Presentations

Selected presentations from recent scientific meetings

Monitoring

Control

Electric fields to repel mosquitoes

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