Larval Mosquito Control
The temperature-dependent operations to kill larval mosquitoes are the frontline of our war on the southern house mosquito. Since larval and pupal mosquitoes can swim but not fly, eliminating mosquitoes from aquatic habitats is easier to target, less expensive, and more environmentally sensitive than killing adult mosquitoes. Also, a dead immature mosquito is one less biting adult mosquito that can potentially transmit a human pathogen.
With more than 600 miles of sewage-polluted roadside ditches, most of the labor hours STPMAD expends on inspection and treatment of this habitat far exceeds other habitats. Inspections of sewage-influenced habitats accounted for 78% of all immature mosquito inspections in 2021. Larvicide operations in 2021 completed 2,987 missions covering 11,973 miles of roadside ditches treated.
Adult Mosquito Control
If larviciding is the frontline of our war on mosquitoes, adulticiding (use of insecticides to manage adult mosquito populations) is our last resort of defense. Unfortunately, it is a costly defense that we must rely on frequently, given the total quantity of mosquito-producing sources parish-wide. Adult mosquito control operations are triggered by mosquito abundances in traps that exceed certain thresholds set for each species of concern. Thirty-two percent of trap-triggered treatments were caused by an excessive abundance of the southern house mosquito. This amounts to an estimated 380 truck treatment missions covering 296,103 acres.
Additionally, we treat for adult mosquitoes by airplane and helicopter. An estimated 18 aerial application missions covering 333,090 acres were conducted to manage sewage-associated mosquitoes in 2021.