1. Can Detergent, Acidity, or Salt control the mosquito population?
Watch Out,
I'm coming to bite you!
By: LeAynne Will
Help from: James Will Jr.
Category: Environmental
School: Dozier Middle School
Mrs. Marioneaux

2. Abstract
Mosquitoes are responsible for millions of deaths all over the world per year. The affect of detergent, salt, and acidity on mosquito larva was tested. Lemon juice represented acidity. The ph level of salt, detergent, lemon juice, and water was found. The ph of salt is 7 (neutral), detergent is 10, lemon juice is 2.2 and water is 7 (neutral). The hypothesis was if detergent, acid, and salt are added to mosquito larva, then the salt will kill the most mosquito larva. The IV was lemon juice, detergent and salt. The DV was which kills the most mosquitoes. First 4 bowls were filled with 2 cups water and 15 mosquito larva in each. Then 1 tsp. of salt was added to #1, 1 tsp. of detergent to #2 and 1 tsp. of lemon juice to #3. The data was recorded every hour for 6 hours. No larva died in lemon juice or normal during this experiment. No mosquito larva died in salt until hour 5, when 3 died, and in hour 6, 8 died. In detergent larva died every hour, 4 in hour 1, 1 in hour 2, 6 in hour 3, 1 in hour 4, 1 in hour 5, and the last two died in hour six. The hypothesis was proved erroneous because the most died in detergent not in salt. From this experiment we can determine that detergent works well in killing mosquito larva, but it is not superior to insecticide.

3. Purpose
The scientist would like to see if detergent, acidity or salt can control the mosquito population?

4. Problem
Does Detergent, Lemon Juice, or Salt kill the most mosquitoes?

5. Literature Research
People that study insects and bugs are called entomologists.
Mosquitoes can carry diseases like West Nile, Western Equine Encephalitis, St. Louis Encephalitis, La Crosse Encephalitis, Japanese Encephalitis, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis but the ones common in Virginia are West Nile Virus , Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and La Crosse Encephalitis.
The Asian Tiger Mosquito causes the most bites in Virginia per year.
The life cycle of a mosquito is egg, larva, pupa, and adult or imago.
Females are the only ones that bite, and males feed on nectar from flowers.
The average life span of a mosquito can be anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks to several months.

6. Literature Research
There are over 3,500 species of mosquitoes known to man.
Males usually live days, while females can live anywhere from 3 to 100 days.
They can beat their wings between 300 and 600 times a second.
The parts of the mosquito's body are the head, abdomen, and thorax.
The females are usually bigger then males.
Fish and aquatic insects eat the larva and pupa.
Birds and bats eat flying adults.

7. Hypothesis
If detergent, acid, and salt are added to mosquito larva, then the salt will kill the most mosquito larva.

8. Variables Independent Variable- lemon juice, salt, and detergent
Dependent Variable- which kills the most mosquitoes
Constants- the amount of mosquitoes, the time recorded, the amount of water, same amount of lemon juice, salt, and detergent.
Control- the normal group to which nothing was added.

9. Materials 60 mosquito larva, 1 tsp. of lemon juice,
1 tsp. of detergent,
1 tsp. of salt,
4 bowls,
and 8 cups of water.

10. Procedure
First, we filled 4 bowls with 2 cups of water and put 15 mosquito larva in each.
Then we added 1 tsp. of salt to #1, 1 tsp of detergent to #2 and 1 tsp. of lemon juice to #3.
Started at 3:00 p.m. on October 29, I recorded my data every hour ending at 9:00 p.m.

11. Results Normal Lemon Juice Detergent Salt Hour 1- 0 dead 15 alive
no dead
Hour 2-0 dead
5 dead
10 still alive
Hour 3- 0 dead
11 dead
4 alive
Hour 4-0 dead
12 dead
3 alive
Hour 5-0 dead
13 dead
2 dead
3 dead
12 alive
Hour 6-0 dead
0 alive
15 dead

12. Data KEY Number of mosquito larva dead every hour.
Hours recorded
Number of mosquito larva dead every hour.

13. PICTURES