|
|
 |
MOSQUITO CONTROL
The state lab is no longer testing birds for WNV and EEE, the Portsmouth Health Department is still interested in reports of dead birds to keep abreast of any unusual clusters. Please report any dead birds to Kim McNamara, Health Officer at 610-7273. Please indicate, if known, the type of bird, where found, when found, condition (i.e. appear hit by a car, possibly caught by a cat or a dog, no signs of trauma, wings spread out, etc.)
Please do not handle dead birds with your bare hands during disposal.
Mosquito Control
Municipal Pest Management Services, Inc. will provide mosquito control services for the City of Portsmouth in 2008.
Spraying to control larval mosquitoes will begin May 31, 2008 and will continue as needed through October 31, 2008.
Larval mosquitoes will be controlled in shallow stagnant bodies of water, such as woodland pools, red maple swamps, cattail marshes, catch basins, stormwater basins, roadside ditches and flooded fields. The primary control agent will be a bacterium larvacide called Vectobac (BTI) or Vectolex (Bs). This environmentally-friendly biological control is very specific to mosquito larvae and is used worldwide in mosquito control. The bacterium is naturally occurring and will not replicate in the environment.
Control agents will only be applied where larvae are collected.
Residents who do not want their properties treated must contact the Public Works Department by writing to DPW Director Steve Parkinson, 680 Peverly Hill Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801.
Information on biological control agents, insecticides, areas likely to be treated, or any potential hazards is available upon request to Municipal Pest Management Services, Inc. at 603-431-0008 or by e-mail: swampfixer@verizon.net.
Residents should make sure their property has no shallow, stagnant water where mosquito populations could develop.
Mosquito Surveillance Program
From Memorial day through October mosquitoes will be taken and tested for West Nile and EEE. For more information please contact Municipal Pest Management Services, Inc. at 603-431-0008 or by e-mail: swampfixer@verizon.net
Government Related Links
GENERAL INFORMATION
Mosquitoes develop in stagnant water habitats as worm-like larvae. Their control is called larviciding. Mosquito adults have wings and emerge from wetland breeding areas. Their flight ranges average from ¼ to 5 miles. Their control is called Adulticiding. The Portsmouth Mosquito Control Program includes the following activities:
- Population Monitoring Of Pest Species and Wetland Breeding Areas
Larval and adult mosquitoes are collected throughout Portsmouth from April through September and microscopically identified to species. Once the predominant species are identified, their breeding areas are controlled.
- Larviciding
The main pest mosquitoes in Portsmouth breed in salt marshes, red maple swamps, woodland pools and flooded fields. These are areas where larviciding efforts are concentrated.
- Adulticiding
Adulticiding can be defined as the control of adult (flying) mosquitoes by truck-mounted sprayers. This is our last line of defense and allows "quick" control under unusually high mosquito populations.
- Wetland Restoration-Promote Natural Controls of Mosquito Larvae
A new component of mosquito control in Portsmouth is wetland restoration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Ducks Unlimited, the State of NH Coastal Program (National Estuaries Program Grant from NOAA) and the City of Portsmouth Public Works Department formed a partnership in 1998 for restoring a severely degraded wetland on Edmond Drive. Equipment was supplied by the USFWS and Ducks Unlimited. The NH Coastal Program provided cash and Portsmouth provided in-kind services (i.e. planning and spoil removal). Various techniques were applied, resulting in a wetland that now provides efficient stormwater flow, biofiltering of sediment and pollutants that ultimately would enter the North Mill Pond, improved fish and wildlife habitat and elimination of the need for larviciding. This wetland was a major mosquito breeding area for North End residents and is now no longer a factor.
return
|
|
