Colonna R, L Donati, A Albieri, R Veronesi, M Carrieri and R Bellini
JEMCA 44 (2026): pp 1-9

The recent outbreaks of imported mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya and dengue, as well as the  endemic presence of West Nile virus in Italy have highlighted the importance of effective mosquito control activities. Consequently, the Italian National and the Regional Arbovirus Surveillance and Control Plans were adopted  starting in 2008, after the chikungunya outbreak of 2007, including guidelines for mosquito surveillance and control. Because of the importance of road drains as breeding sites for both Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens, the  larval treatment of public road drains is among the most relevant economic activities included in the integrated  mosquito control plans. Municipalities, as responsible for mosquito control, usually draw up public tenders to select  pest control companies to provide the service. In this frame, quality control is crucial to collect evidence about the performances of pest control operators. Therefore, a routine quality control service provided by independent technicians has been implemented in the Emilia-Romagna region with the aim of evaluating the treatments applied by pest control companies as well as for keeping their quality standard in line with the subscribed contract, where penalties have been established in case of poor service. This work presents a retrospective analysis of the evidence collected by the quality management activities on pest control services conducted in the Ravenna province in the period 2009–2021.