Background: Odours used by mosquitoes to locate the source of a blood meal are diverse and can be synthesized either singly or in blends to reflect the different individual kairomones that are released by the host body for attracting mosquitoes. Baited methods with these kairomones are scarcely used to sample mosquito vectors in the field. Herein, we developed and compared CO2-baited resting boxes (BRBs) trap against standard Centres for Disease Control miniature (CDC) light trap as a possible alternative field device for sampling mosquito populations in the field.

Methods: Indoor samplings with BRB and CDC light trap were done for 6 consecutive days in six houses in Lower Moshi rice irrigation schemes, northern Tanzania, during the dry season of January–February, 2011. Different ratios of sugar–yeast culture were used to release different amounts of CO2 in the BRB trap. Outdoor sampling was also done for comparing BRB with unbaited resting boxes (UBRBs). The sampling efficiency of BRB, URB, and CDC light traps was measured by comparing mean densities of mosquitoes for each trap in the same room using analysis of variance.

Results: The proportions of mosquitoes sampled with BRB technique were 4.8-folds higher than URB, but 9.5-folds lower than the CDC light traps, indicating that BRB was less effective and competitive for sampling mosquito vector populations in poor resource settings  and high burdens of vector borne-diseases in Sub Saharan of Africa.

Conclusions: The BRB could not serve as a simple tool for field trapping, bearing on operational costs of yeast and sugar to be met by the local community and lower density sampled. Further research might need to be carried out for improving the efficiency of BRB trap.