a comparative study on excito-repellency effects of permethrin, deltamethrin and etofenprox treated bed nets against anopheles stephensi liston, 1901 (diptera: culicidae)

background: malaria is the most important vector-borne disease in many tropical countries all over the world. because of the widespread use of pyrethroid insecticide treated mosquito nets in the world, the effects of excito-repellency (er) phenomenon of pyrethroids against main malaria vector, anopheles stephensi were studied. methods: the er phenomenon of three concentrations of two synthetic pyrethroids (permethrin and deltamethrin) as well as etofenprox was evaluated against anopheles stephensi under laboratory conditions. female 5-7 day unfed mosquitoes were exposed to animal bait in holder and the animal’s back and head were covered with impregnated bed net in -er test chamber. results: deltamethrin was more effective compared to other insecticides in killing the mosquitoes. the mean of entry to exit trap showed significant differences in all concentrations of insecticides (p<0.05). conclusion: this study showed that er phenomenon of insecticides should be noticed in vector control programs. the ranked data indicated the relative potency of both pyrethroids and etofenprox. deltamethrin repels the female mosquitoes more than other insecticides tested.