Three Forks Mosquito Board: trap counts low, fogging active; no West Nile detections so far

District staff reported that mosquito activity in the Three Forks area has remained low so far this season, but that operations are ongoing.

Jessica Crush, who provided the operations update, said trap counts have been very low but recently reached the threshold that triggered fogging operations two weeks ago. "Our trap this week has our biggest count of mosquitoes yet," she said, and staff planned to complete fogging operations that evening. She added that weather — particularly wind and rain — has made spraying and trapping more challenging.

To reduce treatment errors and respect resident no-spray requests, the district used part of its budget to upgrade routing software. "We upgraded the software just to make our routes for Jessica a little bit easier to track so that we can put our no spray zones, and they flag on the device a little nicer," Jessica said.

On public notification, Jessica said schedules and notices are posted on the board's Facebook page and maintained by Jessica Crush; she said the district has a plan to notify the public and adjust its response if a West Nile–positive trap is found. "We have not had any West Nile positive mosquitoes, caught to date," she said, and noted she was not aware of any West Nile–positive traps elsewhere in Montana at that time.

Board members encouraged resident participation on the board and agreed to place a notice in the Three Forks newspaper to recruit volunteers for two open seats left after a resignation.

The board did not report any confirmed West Nile detections; the district emphasized that it would activate public-notification protocols if that changed.