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Mosquito abatement reports expanded drone use, fewer West Nile detections; weed program details budget and helicopter spraying
Summary
Bannock County mosquito abatement reported a major increase in fogging and larvicide acreage in 2025, greater drone use, and one West Nile positive pool; the county weed program reported extensive roadside spraying and helicopter treatments for invasive species including Russian knapweed and leafy spurge.
Bannock County mosquito abatement and weed-control staff updated commissioners Oct. 21 on the 2025 season, highlighting expanded drone use for larvicide applications, increased fogging acreage and an ongoing effort to contain invasive plants such as Dyer’s woad.
Dana Evans, mosquito abatement supervisor, told the board the district fogged 81,384 acres in 2025 compared with 41,706 acres in 2024 and that trap-speciation caught 3,558 mosquitoes in 2025 versus 2,849 in 2024. “So it's fogging. We did 81,384 acres of fogging in 2025, 2024. We did 41,706. So we did almost 40,000 more acres as far as fogging,” Evans said. Evans reported one positive West Nile pool during the season and said staff believed they identified and treated the source, a horse trough full of larvae.
Evans said 482 acres of larvicide work were completed in 2025, up from 263 acres in 2024, and that 88% of the larvicide acreage this year was treated by drone. “Of that 482, 88% of that was done by the drone. So the drone really helped out,” she said. Commissioners asked about drone life-cycle costs and maintenance; Evans said batteries and rotor/spreader upkeep are primary considerations and that she has the program flight plans entered and can automate annual treatment areas.
Separately, county weed-control staff reported spraying more than 2,150 lane miles of roadside weeds at a cost of $182,366.84 and chemical purchases of about $15,097.47. The county also used helicopter spraying early in the season to treat 55 acres for leafy spurge and other invasive species, and cost-shared chemical treatment with a private landowner on 10 acres.
Staff discussed a newly detected invader currently in Twin Falls County (not yet in Bannock County) and the ongoing regional concern about Dyer’s woad; weed supervisors said cooperating counties are debating whether to list Myrtle spurge on priority lists and that some landowners plant invasive ornamentals, complicating control efforts.
Commissioners commended staff for increased coverage and use of drone technology; staff said they will continue to refine budgets for drone battery and rotor replacement and to monitor problem sites.
