Development of briquettes from natural products for knockdown of mosquitoes

Malaria is a major death cause in many parts of the world. This necessitates the development of alternative ways of curbing the problem. This study focused on the development of briquettes that would knockdown (KD) mosquitoes in the course of burning. The briquettes were developed using jatropha seed husks (source of energy), cow dung (binder) and pyrethrin (insecticide), which were then tested for their ability to knockdown and kill mosquitoes at Kenya Pyrethrum Board laboratory. The results were analysed using the analysis-of-variance (ANOVA) tool. The results showed that a hand pressed mixture of jatropha seed husks, pyrethrin and cow dung (binder) in the ratio of 3 g: 0.5 ml: 2 g respectively can cause a 100 % mosquito knockdown within 10 min. and mortality of 97.50 % within 24 hr when burnt indoors. The percentage mosquito knockdown and percentage mortality rate were found to vary significantly with the amount of pyrethrin used. It is expected that the findings of this study will generate new knowledge on briquette development and also contribute to waste management. The research findings will also contribute towards reducing the death rate resulting from malaria.