Malaria has been established and is noted as a major threat to the health of thousands of millions of inhabitants in the tropical and sub-tropical nations and causes more than two million deaths in a year with the majority being children and pregnant women. Both rural and urban households use several aerosol insecticides to fight mosquitoes indoors which feed on human blood to provide food for their eggs and in the process transmit malaria. A study was undertaken in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria to investigate if the household users of aerosol insecticides are adopting the recommended safety regulations on the labels of the insecticides. Sixty rural and 60 urban household users of aerosol insecticides were randomly selected from 6 blocks in the study area. Four out of nine aerosol insecticides found in the study area and mostly used by the households were used for the assessment. The findings of the study show that over 98% of both rural and urban household users of the aerosol insecticides use a minimum of 20-30 seconds to spray the insecticides at the required areas. Over 50% of the users of the aerosols did not take pains to read the instructions on the labels because the products are easy to use. However, the users admit the satisfaction with the instant action-performance of the aerosols. The urban households used 50% more aerosols than their rural counterparts within the 12 months of the year. It is recommended that manufacturers of aerosol insecticides should develop the insecticides handy for outdoors, where mosquitoes breed and move into houses. Awareness campaigns and use of the insecticides should be intensified.

Keyword: Aerosol; Insecticides; Malaria; Control measures; Household users;