- - - - - October 2016 - - - - -

Chemical treatment for adult mosquitoes – adulticiding – is the most visible form of mosquito control. But in a program which the BNMAD operates, it is one we spend the least time performing Our progrm focuses on surveillance, trappng, larviciding to kill mosquitoes before they become adults and education. In Ohio, ground applications for one or more of the state’s more than 60 mosquito species are common in the Spring, summer and Fall These applications may be for pestiferous mosquitoes or mosquitoes that vector disease. The spray treatments typically are Ultra Low Volume.

Adulticides used in Ohio may include chlorpyrifos, permethrin, resmethrin, sumithrin, and other products. The decision about which material to use is based on several factors including the efficacy as determined by scientifically conducted field trials, mosquito species susceptibility, safety, and cost. The insecticide choice is made by each mosquito control agency and varies throughout the state due to differing mosquito species and application requirements. Applications are made to coincide with mosquito flight activity so that the insecticide droplets contact the target insects and to avoid the flight activity of non-target insects such as bees and butterflies.

Generally, just a couple teaspoons of the active ingredient in the spray covers an area of an acre. The rest of the spray contains inactive ingredients.

Training and certification are an integral part of adulticiding operations. The Ohio Department of Agriculture

oversees the certification of public health pesticide applicators and routinely inspects mosquito control operations. This inspection checks surveillance records to verify the need for chemical applications and reviews application methods and amounts.

-----Fun Facts for 2017-----

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---January 2017---

Surveillance and Thresholds

Accurate detection and assessment of the current mosquito population is essential and is achieved through regular monitoring and surveillance programs. Mosquito numbers and distribution patterns are assessed, and this surveillance data is used to determine the area(s) to be treated. Surveillance methods to gather this data vary among mosquito control programs. Adulticiding (spraying) should be considered to be the last resort and conducted only when larviciding and cultural control methods are not practical due to concerns about sensitive habitats, or when these methods have failed, and adult thresholds have been exceeded.

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--- Fun facts for February 2017 - - -

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In the year 2016, in the State of Ohio, there were 70 humans who have the Zika virus. This includes 45 females and 25 males ages 12 - 78 years with travel history to Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific islands. One case did not travel but was sexually transmitted by a partner who had a documented travel history to one of the areas listed above.

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-- Fun facts for March 2017 --

Now is the time of the year to inspect your home and property. Look for any areas where water may lay for more than 3 days after a rain. If found, fill those areas so it does not allow mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Look for any type of container which may collect rain water and either throw away or empty the water which it is holding. In a small water cap a mosquito may 400 or more eggs! If everyone would just take the time and rid their properties of such things it would make less mosquito problems! One last hint, check your gutters to see if there are any debri collecting, such as leaves. This is an area that mosquitoes love to breed and lay their eggs.

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-- Fun Facts for April--

As a last resort to reduce the mosquito population we use a method of spraying, also known as adulticiding. Nighttime and dawn spraying is performed by using ULV sprayers mounted on the back of trucks. The Ultra Low Volume sprayer dispenses droplets containing the pesticide and breaks the liquid into particles that are so small that 150 drops can fit on the head of a pin! The active ingredients in the pesticide we use dispense only approximately 3/4 of an ounce over an acre of area!

Pesticides kill or alter a mosquito by disrupting some vital physiological function. The method by which this occurs is called the pesticide’s mode of action. The most typical mode of action involves disruption of the insect’s nervous system. One variation is insect growth regulators which mimic insect hormones and disrupt the insect’s development. The mode of action of mosquito adulticides, however, is only through disruption of neuronal activity.

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--Fun Facts for May 2017--

The information we are sharing focuses on the method of controlling juvenile mosquitoes while in life stages (larvae& pupae) which only occur in water. To safely alter our aquatic environments, even temporarily, for the purpose of controlling mosquitoes, requires a good working knowledge of both the target species and larvicides, which include commercial pesticides and natural predators. Commercial pesticide information includes summaries and information provided by manufacturers. Minor differences between various formulations of the same or similar active ingredients are detailed so that the competency of each product may be compared. The old days of smothering everything with one pesticide such as waste oil are gone, and mosquito control is rapidly approaching an age of prescription applications where a competent operator will apply one or a combination of larvicides in an environmentally friendly manner under a given set of conditions.

Larviciding is a general term for killing immature mosquitoes by applying agents, collectively called larvicides, to control mosquito larvae and/or pupae. Larval Source Management (LSM) involves both the modification of water habitats, often referred to as Source Reduction and the direct application of larvicides to control mosquito production. Most mosquito species spend much of their life cycle in the larval stage when they are highly susceptible to both predation and control efforts. They often are concentrated within defined water boundaries, immobile with little ability to disperse, and accessible. Adult mosquitoes, in contrast, fly in search of mates, blood meals, or water sources for egg laying and are often inaccessible, not concentrated, and widely distributed. Therefore, effective larviciding can reduce the number of adult mosquitoes available to disperse, potentially spread disease, create a nuisance, and lay eggs which leads to more mosquitoes.

The effective control of larvae and/or pupae is a basic principle of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Effective IPM involves understanding the local mosquito ecology and patterns of arbovirus transmission and then selecting the appropriate mosquito control tools. The most common methods of IPM include Environmental Management, or Source Reduction, Larviciding, and Adulticiding. Other mosquito control principles include Biocontrol as well as additional methods not discussed here such as herbiciding and hand removal of aquatic plants. These methods may be used to control immature mosquitoes indirectly, usually when there is an obligatory association between the larvae/pupae and specific host plants. In these situations, our abatement district larvicides as a management practice because it both minimizes the area in which control procedures must be applied and reduces the need for adult control. At these times, larviciding has a high impact on local population numbers with minimal application efforts.

Planning a LSM strategy is crucial to a highly effective control program. The first step begins with adult and larval surveillance. Once surveys have been conducted, it is then important to map out and prioritize potential larval habitats. Treatment thresholds, often based on the number of larvae encountered at a site, should be established to justify larviciding, and action plans appropriate for the sites should be developed.

It is important to select the appropriate control agent and formulation based on performance and other factors. It is critical to have a thorough knowledge of the biology of the targeted species in order to determine the appropriate larvicide, the timing of the application, and the amount of product to be applied. The larvae are unevenly distributed and the density where they do occur is much higher than at other times in their development when they tend to be more evenly dispersed in salt marsh pools. This situation may call for an application rate higher what is normally used, but never exceeding the maximum allowed on the label. Larvicides may be chosen which exhibit a selective mode of action and have a minimal residual activity or which are not selective and exhibit long-term control. Many larvicides can be applied from either the ground by truck, boat, and hand held devices or by air with fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft, however, some products are not suitable for aerial application. The BNMAD currently does not use aerial application. Follow-up efficacy checks are important to ensure a successful larviciding program, and rotation of products should be incorporated into any IPM program.

There is no perfect larvicide for every situation, and each larvicide has its strengths and weaknesses. Larvicides may be grouped into two broad categories: biorational pesticides and conventional, broad-spectrum pesticides.

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---Fun Facts for June 2017---

All mosquitoes require water to breed. Some species can breed in puddles left after a rainstorm.

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--- Fun Facts for July 2017 ---

Just a few inches of water is all it takes for a female to deposit her eggs. Tiny mosquito larva develop quickly in bird baths, roof gutters, and old tires dumped in vacant lots. If you want to keep mosquitoes under control around your home, you need to be vigilant about dumping any standing water every few days.

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--- Fun Facts for August 2017 ---

George and Martha Washington both suffered from malaria. George contracted the disease when he was a teenager. In the second year of his presidency, he experienced severe hearing loss due to quinine toxicity.