Public Works staff have been targeting one of summer’s most annoying pests.
Staff have been hard at work nipping mosquitoes in the bud. Over the past three weeks, standing water in the area has been monitored and sprayed to help keep outdoors tolerable.
“We finished the first application on the ground and in the air,” said Daryl McConkey, a licensed applicator with the Town.
To control the mosquito population McConkey monitors any standing water for mosquito larva and, if found, sprays a product that targets the larval stage.
“You go out and check some water, for example, a roadside ditch, and if there is larva, you spray it with a backpack sprayer. It’s a granular product that eliminates larva,” said McConkey. “We use Alpine Helicopters and go out and cover farmers’ fields and several areas in the Valley. The water in there we can’t get to, especially now, because seeding is going on.”
Mosquitoes require standing water to reproduce and this spring provided them with more than recent years.
“I’ve been here 27 years and it was the most I’ve ever seen,” said McConkey. “We’re just hoping we don’t get any more rain. That will fill up some new spots and the cycle will start all over again.”
If all goes well, McConkey hopes the Town’s stockpile of mosquito neutralizer will last for the remainder of the summer. Further applications depend on moisture and continued monitoring for mosquito larva.
“We have enough product for one more application. We should be good for this year, unless we get a monsoon. It’s going to depend on the amount of moisture in the next month,” said McConkey. “Right now, there shouldn’t be any larva in any water. If they haven’t hatched by now, they’re not there.”
