{"id":23987,"date":"2018-12-21T00:00:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T04:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=23987"},"modified":"2018-12-21T13:50:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-21T17:50:08","slug":"blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-19949\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"318\" height=\"222\" \/>(<em>Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, December 21, 2019) <a href=\"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/doi\/10.1098\/rspb.2018.1962\">A study<\/a> at the University of Maine (UMaine) finds that adding blackberry leaf litter in stormwater catch basins creates an \u201cecological trap,\u201d enticing mosquito females to lay eggs in sites unsuitable for larvae survival. Employing this new and incredibly viable \u201cattract-and-kill\u2019 tool for mosquito control shows potential for preventing the breeding of mosquitoes that may carry insect-borne diseases, especially in urban environments. Stormwater catch basins regularly accumulate leaf litter, which serve as habitat for the mosquito species <em>Culex pipiens<\/em> (<em>Cx. Pipiens<\/em>) that may carry West Nile virus.<\/p>\n<p>Previous University of Maine research discovered decomposing leaf litter from Amur honeysuckle (<em>Lonicera maackii<\/em>) and common blackberry (<em>Rubus allegheniensis<\/em>) produces chemical compounds that attracts and stimulates <em>Cx. Pipiens<\/em> female to oviposit, or lay eggs.<\/p>\n<p>Investigating the attractiveness and lethality of varying catch basin conditions to mosquitoes, researchers hypothesized that blackberry leaf litter could be shown to be lethal to developing mosquito larvae, and, therefore, act as a natural ecological trap for <em>Cx. Pipiens<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Five varying treatments were applied to a total 50 catch basins. Treatments included (1) all debris dredged weekly throughout the duration of the study, (2) no change to debris naturally occurring in catch basins, (3) ecological trap: naturally occurring debris dredged prior to administering 100 grams of fresh blackberry leaves submerged underwater in mesh bags, (4) attractants only: same as previous, except 100 grams of fresh honeysuckle leaves submerged, (5) toxins only: common larvacide <em>Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis <\/em>(Bti) administered, with no additional change to debris.<\/p>\n<p>Catch basins were those on street edges in relatively standard residential neighborhoods. Larvae in catch basins were counted once prior to and four times after treatments had been administered. Floating emergence traps were placed to capture adult mosquitoes. Experiments were repeated across two years to confirm findings.<\/p>\n<p>Results show catch basins with the ecological trap (blackberry leaves) have consistently higher numbers of <em>Cx. pipiens<\/em> eggs, but very low larvae survival.\u00a0 Honeysuckle, however, showed high larvae survival and high adult emergence. Most strikingly, ecological trap catch basins showed reduced larvae survival even when combined with equal parts honeysuckle.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, with decomposing leaf litter previously shown to attract <em>Cx. pipiens<\/em> oviposition, the study also confirms that survival of mosquito larvae, being filter-feeding invertebrates, is dependent mainly on the aquatic habitat containing the appropriate bacterial community to suit the larvae\u2019s nutritional needs. However, suitable bacteria, unlike decomposing leaf litter, do not create chemical attractants. This means <em>Cx. pipiens<\/em> females select oviposition sites based solely on the presence of decomposing leaf litter, regardless of whether the appropriate bacterial community may be lacking. Thus, researchers suggest <em>Cx. pipiens<\/em> can be tricked to oviposit in sites incompatible for ensuring larvae survival.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The abundance of mosquitoes in aquatic habitats and the efficacy of conventional insecticides for juvenile mosquito control are strongly influenced by variables such as rainfall, water chemistry, and the species and structure of terrestrial vegetation in the surrounding environment,&#8221; says Allison Gardner, PhD, an assistant professor of arthropod vector biology at UMaine and lead author of the study. &#8220;This suggests that ecologically based strategies could [be exploited] for environmentally safe and sustainable mosquito abatement,\u201d Dr. Gardner continued.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Gardner\u2019s study confirms the importance of understanding the suitability of potential habitat for unwanted insect species. Managing conditions conducive for mosquito species\u2019 proliferation prevents human exposure to mosquito-borne pathogens, as mosquitoes do not travel far from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/mosquito\/documents\/Cornell%20Poster.pdf\">where they hatch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, <a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/infoservices\/pesticidesandyou\/documents\/Back-to-the-future.pdf\">broad-spray, conventional management approaches<\/a> create <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/infoservices\/pesticidesandyou\/Winter10-11\/resistance.pdf\">insecticide resistance<\/a> among mosquitoes. They also create toxic conditions that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/Summer2016MosquitosAndPollinators.pdf\">harm non-target species like pollinators<\/a>, including harms to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/infoservices\/pesticidesandyou\/Fall%2007\/pets.pdf\">pets<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/children\/asthma\/AsthmaBrochureCited.pdf\">children<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Meet with elected officials to discuss Beyond Pesticides\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/mosquito\/reportsandpublications\/PHMMS_605.pdf\">public health mosquito management strategy<\/a>. Tell them to fix the problem conditions that lead to mosquito proliferation in your neighborhood and not to waste more time and money on routine insecticide spraying. Help them understand what attracts mosquitoes to an area, and what sustains them. Talk with city officials about developing novel and intuitive \u201cattract-and-kill\u201d mosquito management strategies that include blackberry leaves. Teach them that corralling <em>Cx. pipiens<\/em> eggs into simultaneously attractive and inhospitable habitats would be effective for mosquito management and disease prevention, as it adversely affects <em>Cx. pipiens<\/em> egg production and reduces larvae survival.<\/p>\n<p>Exploiting ecological traps holds potential for new jobs and volunteer opportunities. Encourage the planting of blackberry bushes in your community. Collect fallen leaves and devise ingenious ways to administer the leaves into catch basins (such as being submerged underwater in mesh bags).<\/p>\n<p>When speaking with neighbors, emphasize the <a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/mosquito\/documents\/Ineffectiveness%20of%20Pesticides_Fitz.pdf\">ineffectiveness of pesticides at controlling mosquito populations<\/a>. Discuss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/saferchoice\/saferchoice2.pdf\">the safer choice<\/a>. Purchase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/Mosquito%20Doorknob%20hanger%20Sheet.pdf\">Beyond Pesticides mosquito doorknob hangers<\/a> and teach neighbors simple mosquito reduction steps, such as: removing unnecessary debris <a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/mosquito\/documents\/backyard_mosquito_management.pdf\">on your property<\/a>, and cleaning rain gutters in the spring and fall. \u00a0Offer to help elders and disabled members of your community. Work with friends to create a system for effective mosquito prevention.<\/p>\n<p><em>All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2018-11-ecological-minimize-human-mosquito-borne-pathogens.html\">Phys.org<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/royalsocietypublishing.org\/doi\/10.1098\/rspb.2018.1962#d3e641\">The Royal Society<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2019) A study at the University of Maine (UMaine) finds that adding blackberry leaf litter in stormwater catch basins creates an \u201cecological trap,\u201d enticing mosquito females to lay eggs in sites unsuitable for larvae survival. Employing this new and incredibly viable \u201cattract-and-kill\u2019 tool for mosquito control shows potential for preventing the breeding of mosquitoes that may carry insect-borne diseases, especially in urban environments. Stormwater catch basins regularly accumulate leaf litter, which serve as habitat for the mosquito species Culex pipiens (Cx. Pipiens) that may carry West Nile virus. Previous University of Maine research discovered decomposing leaf litter from Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) produces chemical compounds that attracts and stimulates Cx. Pipiens female to oviposit, or lay eggs. Investigating the attractiveness and lethality of varying catch basin conditions to mosquitoes, researchers hypothesized that blackberry leaf litter could be shown to be lethal to developing mosquito larvae, and, therefore, act as a natural ecological trap for Cx. Pipiens. Five varying treatments were applied to a total 50 catch basins. Treatments included (1) all debris dredged weekly throughout the duration of the study, (2) no change to debris naturally occurring in catch basins, (3) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[371,350,317,83,266,192,56,93,159,120,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-children","category-contamination-2","category-integrated-and-organic-pest-management","category-maine","category-mosquitoes","category-chemical-trespass-drift","category-pets","category-pollinators","category-pyrethrin","category-resistance","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2019) A study at the University of Maine (UMaine) finds that adding blackberry leaf litter in stormwater catch basins creates an \u201cecological trap,\u201d enticing mosquito females to lay eggs in sites unsuitable for larvae survival. Employing this new and incredibly viable \u201cattract-and-kill\u2019 tool for mosquito control shows potential for preventing the breeding of mosquitoes that may carry insect-borne diseases, especially in urban environments. Stormwater catch basins regularly accumulate leaf litter, which serve as habitat for the mosquito species Culex pipiens (Cx. Pipiens) that may carry West Nile virus. Previous University of Maine research discovered decomposing leaf litter from Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) produces chemical compounds that attracts and stimulates Cx. Pipiens female to oviposit, or lay eggs. Investigating the attractiveness and lethality of varying catch basin conditions to mosquitoes, researchers hypothesized that blackberry leaf litter could be shown to be lethal to developing mosquito larvae, and, therefore, act as a natural ecological trap for Cx. Pipiens. Five varying treatments were applied to a total 50 catch basins. Treatments included (1) all debris dredged weekly throughout the duration of the study, (2) no change to debris naturally occurring in catch basins, (3) [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-21T04:00:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-21T17:50:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-21T04:00:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-21T17:50:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\"},\"wordCount\":824,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Children\",\"contamination\",\"Integrated and Organic Pest Management\",\"Maine\",\"Mosquitoes\",\"Pesticide Drift\",\"Pets\",\"Pollinators\",\"Pyrethrin\",\"Resistance\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\",\"name\":\"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-21T04:00:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-21T17:50:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"description\":\"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2501,\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"description\":\"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","og_description":"(Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2019) A study at the University of Maine (UMaine) finds that adding blackberry leaf litter in stormwater catch basins creates an \u201cecological trap,\u201d enticing mosquito females to lay eggs in sites unsuitable for larvae survival. Employing this new and incredibly viable \u201cattract-and-kill\u2019 tool for mosquito control shows potential for preventing the breeding of mosquitoes that may carry insect-borne diseases, especially in urban environments. Stormwater catch basins regularly accumulate leaf litter, which serve as habitat for the mosquito species Culex pipiens (Cx. Pipiens) that may carry West Nile virus. Previous University of Maine research discovered decomposing leaf litter from Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) and common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) produces chemical compounds that attracts and stimulates Cx. Pipiens female to oviposit, or lay eggs. Investigating the attractiveness and lethality of varying catch basin conditions to mosquitoes, researchers hypothesized that blackberry leaf litter could be shown to be lethal to developing mosquito larvae, and, therefore, act as a natural ecological trap for Cx. Pipiens. Five varying treatments were applied to a total 50 catch basins. Treatments included (1) all debris dredged weekly throughout the duration of the study, (2) no change to debris naturally occurring in catch basins, (3) [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2018-12-21T04:00:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-12-21T17:50:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding","datePublished":"2018-12-21T04:00:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-12-21T17:50:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/"},"wordCount":824,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg","articleSection":["Children","contamination","Integrated and Organic Pest Management","Maine","Mosquitoes","Pesticide Drift","Pets","Pollinators","Pyrethrin","Resistance"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/","name":"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-21T04:00:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-12-21T17:50:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/aedes-albopictus-mosquito-genus-of-the-culicine-family-of-mosquitoes-300x196.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2018\/12\/blackberry-leaves-decompose-to-thwart-mosquito-breeding\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blackberry Leaves Decompose to Thwart Mosquito Breeding"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","description":"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization","name":"Beyond Pesticides","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2501,"caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4","name":"Beyond Pesticides","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"description":"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/"],"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23987"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23995,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23987\/revisions\/23995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}