Alternative methods for vector control include environmental management, biological control and personal protection, such as use of repellents, wearing protective clothes and sleeping under bed nets. Possible methods of control of vectors can be allocated according to particular behaviours or phases in the life cycle. The effects of different interventions have been modelled. Vector control based on environmental management has to be tailored to local conditions and requires the active involvement of local communities; environmental impact assessments during the planning stage are essential. One environmental control method employed successfully in several countries to control vectors in rice fields is intermittent irrigation. Zooprophylaxis, the possible protection afforded by diverting potential vectors from humans to animals, thereby reducing transmission, has been advocated by the World Health Organization as a possible alternative to conventional control. Education and information can have an impact on the utilisation, sustainability and effectiveness of interventions.