How many targets do I need?

To eliminate a population of tsetse, you need to kill at least 4% of the female population per day. The odour-baited targets that we use to control G. pallidipes kill about 1-2% of the population per day. So we need 2-4 targets per square kilometre; most successful operations against this species have used four targets per square kilometre.

Riverine species such as G. fuscipes and G. palpalis are less responsive to host odours. Consequently, targets are only employed as visual baits rather than visual and olfactory baits. As their name suggests, these species are confined largely to drainage lines so the area that needs to be treated is not generally as extensive as that needed to control savanna species of tsetse. In Uganda targets are deployed at a density of 5.7/km2 and in Guinea the density is 15/km2.

The more targets that you deploy, the quicker tsetse are killed. So you could choose to eliminate G. pallidipes from an area very quickly by deploying 10 rather than 4 targets per square kilometre. But of course this would cost more. Tsetse Plan shows you what would happen to a tsetse population with various levels of mortality so that you can choose a balance between cost and effect that suits your circumstances.