Turtles

J Am Mosq Control Assoc. 2007;23(2 Suppl):221-4. doi: 10.2987/8756-971X(2007)23[221:T]2.0.CO;2.

Abstract

Juvenile turtles have the capacity to eat more than 500 3rd and 4th instar mosquitos per day. Keeping one turtle in each water-storage tank during field trials for a dengue-control project in Honduras eliminated all mosquito production from the tanks. In Louisiana, keeping turtles in residential roadside ditches polluted by septic-tank effluent reduced Culex quinquefasciatus larvae and pupae by more than 99%. Turtles can serve as alternate hosts for Salmonella when kept in small pet containers, but the available evidence indicates that turtles create no Salmonella hazard in water-storage tanks or other mosquito-breeding habitats. Although turtles would probably not be practical for mosquito control in roadside ditches, they could be effective in storm-water catch basins or holding ponds.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Culicidae / physiology*
  • Honduras
  • Larva / physiology
  • Louisiana
  • Mosquito Control / methods*
  • Pest Control, Biological / methods*
  • Predatory Behavior / physiology*
  • Turtles / microbiology
  • Turtles / physiology*