Control messages recommend adding temephos to containers that cannot be covered by lids. The common perception, that temephos is a harmful chemical, discourages its use particularly in drinking water, although health education materials indicate that temephos added in the correct dose is safe for drinking. Only one par- ticipant mentioned adding temephos to drinking water. However, there is insufficient information about how to do this or when to re-add temephos or even the right amount needed for particular sized containers. Most participants in this study did not know this information, nor did they know that emptying treated containers reduces temephos’s effectiveness. Insufficient temephos distribution creates further barriers for control activities. Though temephos can be obtained from health centres or the municipal health office, people have to spend valuable time (during office hours) and effort to obtain temephos. Unless people perceived temephos as necessary, they were unlikely to make such an investment.