LA UNTADITA - A PROCEDURE FOR MAINTAINING WASHBASINS AND DRUMS FREE OF AEDES-AEGYPTI BASED ON MODIFICATION OF EXISTING PRACTICES

Chlorine bleach and detergent are routinely used by householders in El Progreso, Honduras in the process of cleaning washbasins and drums, t he two most important larval habitats of Aedes aegypti in the city. Th e efficacy of these materials in eliminating eggs, larvae, and pupae o f Ae. aegypti was assessed under controlled conditions. The promising results obtained led to trials using a combination of chlorine bleach and detergent to apply to the walls of washbasins and drums as a metho d for eliminating eggs. The bleach maintained its ovicidal properties when mixed with detergent, and the detergent gave the mixture consiste ncy so that it could be applied as a thin film to the walls. This new procedure was named the little dab (Untadita in Spanish) and allows ho useholds to direct their efforts against a stage of the mosquito life cycle that has been ignored in the past: the egg.