Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Vector Control topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brookings public works outlines mosquito control plan as summer hatches surge
Summary
Public Works Director John Thompson updated the council on Brookings’ integrated mosquito management: larvicide work starting in spring, adult trapping and a weekly ground-fogging response triggered by counts and West Nile virus detection, and noted the city’s $50,000 annual budget may be exceeded this year.
John Thompson, Public Works, told the council the city’s mosquito management program combines larvicide treatment and adult mosquito monitoring to protect residents from nuisance activity and West Nile virus. He said larvicide work typically begins in April–May and continues through late September, and that the city monitors wet areas and treats when larval detections occur or the water temperature supports hatching.
Thompson described the traps and counting procedures he brought to the meeting and explained the city’s threshold for adult control: "when we start seeing mosquito counts or trends over a hundred plus, or if there's any that are, with West Niles, we will implement our ground fogging." He said fogging is usually performed about once per week in targeted areas and that the adult fogging formulation is applied at a very low concentration; Thompson stated the product mix used includes BTI for larvae and for adult work "3% permethrin" among other active ingredients, and he quantified recent usage ("we used 13.7 gallons in 1 truck" treating roughly 1,250 acres).
In response to council questions, Thompson said fogging produces an immediate reduction in flying adults and that staff re-check trap counts the next day to measure effectiveness. He described fogger equipment as speed-calibrated (typically 10–15 mph) with GPS tracking to document routes and said the city focuses night treatments where adult activity and public use overlap, such as parks and sports fields. Thompson also acknowledged limits on treating private pastures outside city rights-of-way and said mosquitoes from surrounding untreated properties can re-enter the city.
Thompson said the city budgets about $50,000 a year for the program but expects to exceed that level this season given the conditions driving repeated hatches. He noted the city takes precautions to limit effects on beneficial insects by scheduling treatments at night when bees and other pollinators are less active.
The council did not take specific action; Thompson said staff will continue monitoring and deploying larvicide and fogging as conditions dictate.
