City mosquito control complicated by rain

By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter

City workers have stayed busy this summer spraying areas of Madison to keep mosquitoes under control, but trying to ward off the pesky insects and the West Nile virus that some of them carry is a challenge due to wet weather. The creeks inside Madison's city limits that are often quiet during the summer have running water flowing through them. Ted LaFleur, city parks foreman, said that mosquitoes won't use flowing water as a breeding site for their offspring, but the busy creeks are a sign that the ground is saturated. And where there's saturated ground, standing ponds of stagnant water are easy to find.

"The standing water problem has been huge this summer," LaFleur said. "The frequency of the rainfall has meant that the ground hasn't been allowed to dry out, and we have all of these ponds where mosquitoes can breed."

According to LaFleur, the area near Gehl-Mustang and the SD-34 bypass provides a good example of the standing water problem. LaFleur said the ditches along the bypass have water standing in them, and the lack of drainage has allowed water to collect in some of the back areas of the manufacturing plant's property.

LaFleur said that Madison residents can contact the city Parks Department at 256-7520 and leave a message to report any pools of water that need treatment.

Mosquito-control personnel can apply a larvicide to standing pools of water and try to keep the young mosquito larvae from reaching adulthood.

Residents can also help by removing any items from the yards that can hold rain water and provide spots for mosquito breeding. LaFleur said homeowners with birdbaths should change the water weekly -- an effort that should also keep the birds satisfied. Gardeners should do the same with any decorative ponds, unless those ponds hold fish.

Madison officials started the city's mosquito-control efforts on June 3, and LaFleur estimated that workers have sprayed against adult mosquitoes about eight times throughout the community. To do a good job, the workers need helpful weather conditions, such as the right temperature and breezy conditions that aren't too windy.

"We don't like to spray on Fridays, because there's too many people outside at the end of the week," LaFleur said.

He said city residents could assist the mosquito-control efforts by moving indoors when the insecticide spray vehicle, a white pickup with the spray equipment in its truck bed, moves through their neighborhood.

"The chemicals that we spray aren't dangerous, but we don't want to directly spray any of it on people," LaFleur said. "When we do come across people outdoors, we shut the spraying equipment down."

According to LaFleur, some persons have asked why the mosquito-control vehicle seemed to move faster while it has performed its work this summer. The pickup and its operators are using a new GPS system this summer, allowing for quicker applications of insecticide.

"We can apply more ounces per minute (of insecticide) and drive faster," LaFleur said.

Using the GPS system, the operators have reduced their spray time by about 25 percent. It now takes about three hours to complete standard spray coverage within the city.

©Madison Daily Leader 2010