Weeks 1-2 at PDPH Vector Control Department

Today marks two whole weeks of my time at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health Vector Control Department. Instead of sitting through an introductory presentation on my first day, I was thrown into the field and learned things as I went. During the first week, I was taught how to put together and place gravid traps to catch gravid (egg-laying) mosquitos. The process was much more simple that I thought it would be, using a bin and a toolbox-esque trap with a fan, battery, and collection box. We would leave multiple traps throughout the city and come pick them up after 24 hours. After collecting the traps, we noted the date, times, and locations where each trap was found. When we made it back to the department building, we froze the collection boxes and collected  freeze the collection boxes and approximate how many mosquitoes were in each trap. By the second week we were setting BG traps throughout the city and practicing how to set them up and take them down for data collection. My supervisor made very sure that we wore gloves when handling these traps, as these mosquitos would bite and draw blood! I am looking forward to see what is in store for the rest of my time with Vector Control! 

Gravid trap collection box


Gravid trap box

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