Beyond Insecticides: Nature-Based Strategies for Next-Generation Mosquito Control

Abstract

Mosquito-borne diseases continue to impose a major and expanding global health burden, driven by climate change, rapid urbanization, ecological disruption, and intensified human mobility. Despite decades of vector-control efforts, mosquito management remains heavily dependent on a narrow portfolio of synthetic insecticides. This reliance presents a growing challenge: widespread insecticide resistance, documented across major vector species, is eroding control efficacy, while repeated chemical exposure raises ecological concerns and threatens non-target biodiversity. These interconnected limitations highlight the vulnerability of insecticide-centric strategies and underscore the urgent need for more resilient and environmentally compatible alternatives. In this review, we examine next-generation mosquito management platforms derived from natural systems, focusing on three complementary domains: semiochemical-based behavioural manipulation, plant-derived bioactives, and microbial control agents. We synthesize recent advances in chemical ecology, phytochemical formulation science, and microbial biocontrol, emphasizing their mechanisms of action, ecological boundaries, and operational feasibility. Beyond direct lethality, we discuss how these tools can disrupt host-seeking and oviposition, impose sublethal fitness costs, and reshape vector populations in ways that reduce transmission potential. By integrating behavioral, phytochemical, and microbial strategies, mosquito control can move beyond single-mode insecticidal dependence toward a more diversified, durable, and ecologically aligned framework.