The increasing prevalence of high-rise residential developments in dengue-endemic regions has created new challenges for understanding the distribution and surveillance of Aedes mosquitoes. This study investigated the vertical distribution of Aedes mosquitoes and evaluated the effectiveness of two modified low-cost sticky trap designs in a high-rise residential complex in Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 108 sticky traps comprising small and large trap designs were deployed across multiple floor levels in two residential blocks over four sampling rounds. Adult mosquitoes were identified morphologically, and trap performance was assessed using sticky trap indices and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) analysis. Aedes aegypti was the dominant species captured throughout the study, particularly in Block A, whereas Ae. albopictus was more frequently detected in Block B. Adult Aedes mosquitoes were recorded from lower parking levels to the highest residential floors, demonstrating extensive vertical distribution within the building environment. Large sticky traps consistently outperformed small traps, recording higher sticky trap indices, greater mosquito captures, and all mixed-species detections. Negative-binomial GEE indicated that floor level and trap size were significant predictors of Ae. aegypti abundance, while binary logistic regression showed that the probability of Ae. aegypti detection also increased with floor level and was substantially higher in large traps. These findings demonstrate that Aedes mosquitoes are capable of occupying a wide vertical range in high-rise residential buildings and highlight the value of low-cost stiky traps as practical surveillance tools. The study provides important ecological insights into urban mosquito distribution and supports the development of scalable surveillance strategies for dengue vector management in increasingly vertical urban landscapes.
* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.