Abstract

Experimental huts are costly investments for programs evaluating insecticides and researching mosquito behaviour. These huts can be used to evaluate indoor residual sprays for malaria control but when the hut trials finish, contamination by the long lasting insecticide treatments might prevent further use of the hut. To see if experimental huts could be reused after indoor residual spraying tests, huts in Cotonou, Benin, were treated with a high dose of chlorpyrifos methyl (500 mg/m²). Bioassays with susceptible Anopheles gambiae indicated the treatment was successful. After this, untreated surfaces were washed and the inner surface of the cement walls was chipped away and replaced. Bioassays indicated that contamination was not present and that reuse of huts after indoor residual spraying is possible.

Key words: Anopheles gambiae, experimental huts, reuse, indoor residual spraying, Benin, chlorpyrifos methyl.