**1. Introduction**

*Aedes aegypti* (Linnaeus) and *Aedes albopictus* (Skuse) are mosquitoes of the genus *Aedes*, belonging to the family Culicidae, which stand out as the two main species of vectors transmitting viral diseases, such as dengue, which has four serotypes (DENV 1–4), viruses Chikungunya, Zika virus, among other arboviruses [1–4].

Dengue is currently the most prevalent arboviruses in the world. According to the World Health Organization, about half of the world's population lives at risk of infection [5]. The *A. aegypti* is incriminated by the transmission of dengue virus and has been circulating in several continents such as Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe [6].

In Brazil, *A. aegypti* is the most important vector of dengue virus. Since the twentieth century, campaigns to combat this vector have been intensified; however, they have not been successful. The *A. aegypti* continues to disperse in various parts of the world where it transmits several arboviruses. This fact can also be seen throughout the Brazilian territory [6, 7].

The *A. aegypti* is a diurnal, anthropophilic mosquito with development of holometable, passing through the egg phase, four larval stages (L1, L2, L3 and L4), pupa and adult forms. The increase in the availability of human-made containers associated with climatic factors such as temperature rise, and variations in rainfall and relative humidity favor the vector development [8–11].

Among the control methods, the most important are the chemicals, which have been used since the 1940s with the discovery of synthetic insecticides. Although several studies prove the resistance of mosquito populations to different classes of insecticides, they are still widely used for the control of *Aedes*. We also have the mechanical control that aims at the removal of breeding grounds, and the biological control that uses living organisms considered ecologically safe for the environment, as an attempt to reduce the population density of the vector [12, 13].

In order to combat *A. aegypti*, it is essential to regularly implement public water supply systems, basic sanitation and the adequate packaging of municipal solid waste, because a large part of the population is not aware of the problems generated by poor packaging of household waste and containers [14, 15].

The present work aims to characterize the breeding sites most frequented by *A. aegypti*, to analyze the physical conditions in which these breeding sites are found to contribute for the actions to combat vector proliferation. As a consequence, outcome of this work will promote improvement in health and the environment, avoiding the disposal of waste in inappropriate places and an adequate packaging of domestic containers.
