National Mosquito Control Awareness Week 2021 – Follow Along with MMCD!
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July 7, 2021
MMCD seasonal technicians are a huge part of our organization. These first-year technicians are from Maple Grove.
Results from the June 21st Monday night surveillance show human-biting mosquito numbers remain low district-wide
Every Monday night starting in mid-May through September, the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District sets out a variety of mosquito and black fly traps throughout the district and employs a network of sweep net collections done by employees and volunteers. Any insects collected are brought back to our lab on Tuesday to be identified throughout the week with maps published to show current mosquito and black fly activity.
The results from the June 21st surveillance published by the MMCD entomology lab show that adult mosquitoes remain low throughout the district, thanks to the dry weather we have been having. According to MMCD Assistant Entomologist, Dr. Scott Larson "numbers of adult mosquitoes were down significantly with only a few CO2 traps (17) capturing more than 50 mosquitoes. We currently run 138 CO2 traps, so this is a very small number of traps that were productive last Monday night."
Culex mosquitoes, the species that can transmit West Nile virus, remain high as in previous weeks, but no pools of mosquitoes have tested positive for WNV as of Friday. The entomology lab did acknowledge that one surprising factor last week was the high number of Aedes triseriatus, or "treehole mosquito." These container-breeding mosquitoes are the vector of La Crosse encephalitis, a harmful, but extremely rare mosquito-borne illness that primarily affects children. Removing waste tires, filling treeholes, and eliminating standing water are all good ways to reduce this species.
VECTOR UPDATE: Latest samples of Culex mosquitoes tested for West Nile virus are negative
In his latest update MMCD Vector Ecologist Kirk Johnson said that 23 mosquito pools were tested for West Nile virus last week and all samples came back negative. The high number of Culex overall implies that we may find West Nile virus earlier than in previous years, but MMCD has yet to find a positive sample and the Minnesota Department of Health has not reported any human cases.
Learn how MMCD conducts RAMP tests for West Nile virus.
Helicopters Will Be Out This Week
Due to the rain over the weekend and the timing of our pre-hatch treatments, we had helicopters doing treatments in Hennepin County today and we anticipate we will have more tomorrow throughout the metro. The dryness for most of the season has kept mosquito numbers down, but a few decent rainfall totals and there could be big hatches leading to a spike in the number of mosquitoes. Combine that with the fact that cattail mosquitoes typically emerge around the 4th of July and we could see an increase in next week's totals!
For the latest updates on mosquito control, disease activity, and planned treatments, follow MMCD on Twitter or Facebook.
