Residents May Need Their Own Mosquito Killers In Towns That Won't Spray

June 17, 2010 - PRLog -- John Springer works for a municipal office that provides mosquito abatement. Yet, when it comes to ridding his property of the pests, or the property of his fellow Benton County residents, his hands are tied.

The state’s Department of Ecology has drafted new permit restrictions that, if passed, would prohibit the spraying of insecticides mosquito populations near bodies of water, which typically serve as breeding grounds.

The restriction, which aims to protect the environment from harmful chemical mosquito killers, would prevent the spraying of mosquito larvae, allowing an increase in adult mosquito populations, where West Nile virus has been identified. There have been at least 30 confirmed cases of infection last fall in Benton and Yakima counties.

Curbing the population of mosquitoes and the number of the bugs that carry West Nile requires two steps: interrupting the mosquito breeding cycle and eliminating their breeding grounds. The restriction on spraying would hinder both of these goals, since large bodies of still water, such as lakes, ponds and slow-moving rivers are home to large numbers of mosquitoes.

Large crowds have gathered at town meetings to argue the merits of spraying restrictions, as homeowners are faced with the prospect of finding alternate means of keeping their yards and pools free from mosquitoes.

One type of mosquito killer is the mosquito trap (http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/store/mosquito-magnet-traps...). To mimic a human presence, the trap attracts mosquitoes by releasing carbon dioxide. Combined with an attractant, mosquitoes are lured to the machine and are suctioned into a net where they dehydrate and die. These traps are highly effective at disrupting the mosquito breeding cycle, and drastically reducing the surrounding mosquito population. In places like Benton County, mosquito killers may be the only way to reduce mosquito populations and combat the spread of the West Nile virus.