The minimalist traps use no pesticides or chemical attractants — a boon for regions like Puerto Rico where some mosquitoes have developed resistances to these products — and is essentially a five gallon bucket filled with water, hay and glue. The traps successfully reduced the rates of chikungunya infection by 50 percent over the winter when used in a few neighborhoods in Puerto Rico, according to the CDC as reported by NBC News.
The color of the bucket serves to attract mosquitoes as does the water-soaked hay. The sides of the bucket are doused in glue. When female mosquitoes fly down through the tapered spout of the bucket to lay their eggs in the putrid water, they get stuck.
Tyler Sharp, PhD, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s dengue branch in Puerto Rico, told NBC News, “It is important to note that these traps are not going to solve the Zika outbreak or any future outbreak…they are one tool of many that can be utilized to reduce an individual’s risk of infection with any of these viruses that are transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.”
More articles on the Zika virus:
Opinion: 5 reasons Zika should delay the Olympics
Protecting health workers from Zika transmission during labor: 5 things to know
CDC: Urine test is best for Zika infection detection
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