Metropolitan Mosquito Control District explains larval surveillance, helicopter and drone treatments to Mound Council

Alex Carlson, public affairs manager for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, told the Mound City Council that MMCD concentrates on larval surveillance and targeted treatments to protect public health. Carlson said MMCD conducts larval dips, sets adult traps, and sends samples to an entomology lab in Saint Paul to identify human-biting species and test for pathogens including West Nile virus. "We're not doing any treatments until we've identified that these are human biting mosquitoes," Carlson said.

Carlson described control methods the district uses for different scales of habitat: helicopters for large wetlands, drones for medium-sized sites, and hand treatments for small drainage areas. He emphasized that helicopter applications are dry granules — "little pellets that land in the water" — containing bacteria that target mosquito larvae and he said they pose no health effect for people or pets. Council members asked about lone star ticks and the timing of helicopter flights; Carlson said lone star ticks were found last year but not detected this year and recommended residents sign up for activity alerts and use MMCD's public maps and weekly newsletter to track treatments and local mosquito activity.