Feeding responses of Anopheles harrisoni and An. minimus were evaluated following exposure to 2 pyrethroid insecticides, bifenthrin or deltamethrin, using an excito-repellency test system in the presence and absence of live host cues. The results demonstrated that contact irritancy was the primary action of bifenthrin or deltamethrin in both mosquito species. There was no noncontact repellency effect elicited by either insecticide. Anopheles minimus showed rapid escape response with high mortality rates following direct contact with deltamethrin in the absence of a host and delayed escape responses when a host was present. Similarly, exposure of An. minimus to bifenthrin also elicited a delayed escape response in the presence of a host but with lower mortality rates. In experiments using An. harrisoni, the presence or absence of a host had no significant effect on behavioral responses to either insecticide (P > 0.05). We conclude that deltamethrin elicited stronger irritant chemical effects than bifenthrin but that behavioral responses in vector populations are dampened in the presence of an available host. This information is useful for estimating probability of pathogen transmission when using irritant chemicals in proximity to a blood-meal source.