Integrated Mosquito Management Program

How do we Control Mosquitoes?

Morrow BioScience uses an integrated pest management approach to controlling mosquitoes. The best time during the mosquito life cycle to control them is when they are larvae. For this reason, we place most efforts on finding larval development sites and treating the larva then. Mapping and monitoring the sites assists in the continued improvement of information.

Integrated Mosquito Management: Mapping and Monitoring

For mosquito control to be effective from year to year, we must map development sites and enter them into a database for reference.

During the fall and spring, technicians find new potential development sites to monitor during the summer. When we find new sites, we map them using Global Positioning System (GPS) and add them to the database. During the spring and summer, technicians monitor known development sites for larvae. We check most sites at least once every week, and more frequently as the weather warms. If we find sufficient larvae in the development sites, we treat them using larvicides. However, if there are no larvae in the development sites, no treatment occurs and we check the sites again within a week.

In addition, if there are any areas near your home which contain water but cannot be mechanically controlled, you can report them at any time by calling your municipality. This obviously is only effective if your area has a control program in place. They will send someone out to the area that will assess the sites to determine if they require further monitoring.

Larviciding

The use of larvicides such as B.t.i. has proven to be the most effective in decreasing mosquito populations. Larvicides are relatively environmentally friendly, target-specific, and very effective in killing larvae. We can apply these through the use of helicopters, boats, or by hand.

Whenever possible, our technicians hike into the mosquito development sites and apply the larvicide by hand. This is very effective for smaller channels, but not in larger areas when the water is high. When the water is too high, we use boats to access and treat otherwise inaccessible areas.

Finally, helicopters may be used to treat large development sites that are inaccessible or too large to treat by hand. This includes islands on the river as well as other large sites that become flooded when the river gets above a certain height.

For more info on integrated mosquito management or our services, please contact us.

Integrated Mosquito Management – additional resources:

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