Sandflies, also known as biting midges or no-see-ums, are blood-eating insects that are usually found in wet and sandy areas. Like other blood-sucking insects, sandflies are vectors of disease-causing pathogens. Their mouthparts are well-developed for cutting the skin of their host. Their bites are not painful immediately but they can cause intensely itchy lesions that appear after 1 or 2 days. They look similar to mosquitoes but they are much smaller in size. Therefore, we cannot see them most of the time (no-see-ums). But once you see it, you can recognize them by their typical white roundish wings.
There are many sandflies in Sihanoukville and in particular on the islands (Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samloeun, Koh Takiev, etc.). One of the main complaints that tourists express about the coastal region of Cambodia is about the presence of these insects.
To control the population of sandflies, we use traps developed by Biogents. These devices attract and catch all blood-eating insects, including sandflies, using CO2 and lure. In this case, we add specially designed LED lights to increase the catch rate. Following this technique, we can reduce continuously the global population of these pests up to 100 meters around the trap. Eventually, we manage to perform sandfly control without any hazard for health or the environment as we do not use any insecticide. The trap works 24/7 to protect the beach all the time from sandflies… …and mosquitoes at the same time.