Toxicity of two groups of pesticides against the mosquito Aedes aegypti

The mosquito Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae) is a vector for several pathogens that affect human health worldwide. Therefore, mosquito control is the best approach to prevent disease outbreaks. In this milieu, it is preferable to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical pesticides at regular intervals to identify the most effective ones and use them during the outbreaks of diseases and spread of pests. Here, we aimed to study the toxicity of six pesticides, which are classified under two groups, namely pyrethroids and organophosphates, against A. aegypti mosquitoes to improve disease control in Saudi Arabia. Hortak was the most effective in larval mosquito control (LC50 = 0.0031 ppm), followed by Aquapal Super 20 EW (LC50 = 0.0389 ppm), whereas Solfac was the least effective (LC50 = 0.1119 ppm). In addition, the sensitivity of the tested larvae to Safrotin and Keen 600 EC was 8.1 and 58.9 times higher than that to Resfin-5, which was the least effective, respectively. Hortak and Safrotin exhibited the highest toxicity against the larvae of A. aegypti. Our findings confirm that the tested pesticides can be used in mosquito-control programs during epidemic outbreaks and emergency.