Weekly Update – June 11th – Frequent Rains Bring Us Back to Average for Mosquitoes

Weekly Update – June 18th – Mosquito Numbers are Down, but Likely to Head Back Up

June 25, 2024

Published by Abigail Brown at June 20, 2024

Carter Sikorski, Field Technician

Mike Novacek, Field Technician

Sammy Mallinger, Field Technician

How long have you been working here at MMCD?

CARTER: About a month now.

MIKE: It's my fifth summer.

SAMMY: This is my first season, since about the beginning of April.

How did you hear about MMCD?

CARTER: My dad told me about it, he works for the county so he had heard about it.

MIKE: I think I saw it at the State Fair. There's a booth there and I thought that'd be a good job to go out and treat mosquitoes with the helicopter and sounded like a fun part-time job for the summer.

SAMMY: I was looking for summer jobs. I think it popped up on Facebook when I saw an ad for it.

How does a typical day look like?

CARTER: I start in the morning at the shop in Rosemont and then most of the day is spent out, visiting sites in the field, treating, testing.

MIKE: [In a] typical day we meet for a meeting in the morning. We get our work assignments and go out - the job it varies by what we're doing, either treating sites or testing for larvae after a large rain.

SAMMY: Well, we start out at our shop and then [Field Operations Supervisor] Angela will kind of assign us to areas, based on what we're doing for that day and then kind of get my truck ready, get everything that I need for the day, make sure I'm all set. So, [I] just use my phone, navigate to the sites, check it out, take samples and treat it. And yeah, just keep on going with that until it's about time to go home.

What's the coolest equipment you've used?

CARTER: I mean, I haven't directly used it, but working with the helicopter, has definitely been a cool experience. So, I would say that.

MIKE: My new truck. This year is pretty cool. I like that. The backpack sprayers are good.

SAMMY: I think the backpacks. Well, I got to ride on the UTV so that was fun. I didn't drive it, but that's always fun, but the backpack's [an] interesting piece of equipment, too.

What is something funny that you have witnessed while working here?

MIKE: Ah, something funny. Well, I got chased off a site! One time, people didn't like me. But the coolest thing is, I saw a little fawn and thought it was like a coyote, but it was a little baby deer.

SAMMY: Angela witnessed me! I walked up on a turkey and she flew up in the air and I just screamed at the top of my lungs! And then I laughed at myself afterwards.

What is your favorite part of the job?

CARTER: Oh, I just like being out in nature being outdoors. So that's just enjoyable.

MIKE: I've been outside working with the crew. Being task oriented

SAMMY: I think just being outside. It's really nice to like be in wide open spaces like this. I mean sometimes we're also in like neighborhoods like in Lakeville. I've seen a bunch of cool wildlife! I saw a sand hill crane this morning and deer and birds and all that stuff so that's really cool.

What is something that you will never forget about working here?

CARTER: I'll never forget how many times I got bitten by mosquitoes.

MIKE: Getting up at 5:15 every morning, I'd like to forget that. Really it is good though.

SAMMY: Hmm. It's hard to say so far. Probably just dealing with people. A lot of people are really nice, and they are like, really appreciative of what you're doing when you come up and you just ask them a few questions about like, can I go on your property? Can I look for this and this? They're really nice and they're really happy to see you. And That was surprising to me. So, I like that.

If you could invent something to help you kill mosquitoes, what would it be?

CARTER: Hmm. I don't know, maybe If they had a device that they could put in like ponds or wetland areas that would just continuously release larval [control materials] whenever it needed to be so they didn't have to have people go around.

SAMMY: That's really hard. If I could just have like a force field. Maybe that wouldn't kill the mosquitoes but at least help people out dealing with them. You could just like wear a force field, that would be great.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?

CARTER: Any place in the world… I think maybe Germany, [it] seems pretty cool.

MIKE: I think I would probably like to go up to Alaska for now. Yeah, I've been to Japan. I've been to Taiwan, been to the Philippines. Alaska would be fun in the summertime.

SAMMY: Oh my gosh, I think Italy! I really want to go to Italy! That would be awesome!

How is the work culture here at MMCD?

CARTER: It's good. Everybody's nice. Everybody's kind of just you know, it's pretty easy relaxing.

MIKE: Work culture is very task oriented. A good place to work. Respectful people. Treat you with respect.

SAMMY: Oh it's great! It's really nice. I feel like people listen to you. If you have a concern or if you have a problem everyone's been really helpful. I really like that. They have any tips. If they've been here for a few seasons, I know a better way to get to a site or you know, something like that. They have inside knowledge that really helps and it makes me feel like I can call them and ask them. If I'm in trouble or if I'm confused or whatever the case is.