A tough year killing skeeters

I will agree, in part, with a caller who left a message on my answering machine complaining that not enough had been done about the mosquitoes this summer.

However, I must add that I feel the vector control district has done everything within its power to reduce mosquito numbers as much as possible.

At this point in the season, the district has logged 302 phone calls. Of these calls 249 were adult mosquito reports, 16 event fogging requests, 12 dead bird reports, four larval inspection requests, three no-spray list, two for advice on out-of-district mosquito control and 16 miscellaneous calls, including thank-yous. The district has made 381 larvacide treatments covering 9,985 acres as well as 55 adulticide treatments covering 63,939 acres.

The district also maintains an active adult mosquito surveillance program, collecting samples from 24 trap sites weekly, to not only monitor adult mosquito populations but to collect mosquitoes for West Nile Virus surveillance. To date we have processed 253 samples with three being confirmed positive for WNV.

The control of WNV and other mosquito-borne diseases is the primary function of the district with the control of nondisease-carrying nuisance mosquitoes being a secondary objective. With the abundance of mosquito larval habitat this season due to the extremely large snowpack, the district was forced due to budgetary constraints to focus on our primary goal of controlling disease-carrying mosquitoes and allowing nuisance populations to swell above normal treatment thresholds.

You might ask why, with the option levy passing, has the district been forced to make this decision? Simply put, the cost per acre to control mosquitoes has gone up far faster than anyone could have foreseen. Granular aerial larvacide application costs rose from $2.97 an acre to $6.95 per acre. That’s just for the aircraft — not the product. Aerial adulticide application also jumped from 29 cents to 92 cents. To date, the cost for chemical and aerial applications of larvacides has cost $140,396.74. Adulticide applications have cost $79,943.32 for a total of $220,340.06. The district has not only used all of the resources budgeted for this season’s applications but dipped well into the reserves we have built over last seven seasons I have managed the district.

As the mosquito season nears its end, we will continue to use the limited resources we have left available to impact the mosquito populations as much as possible. I would like to personally ask you all to take steps now and in the future to do everything possible to eliminate mosquito production on your property. Mosquito control is a community effort, from fields to buckets, bird baths to water troughs — any standing water you can eliminate helps the fight against mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease.

With my eighth season coming to a close, I am reminded of how far the district has come over the years since I first arrived. I believe we have built a program based on sound science to protect public health and quality of life of the citizens we serve using products and resources we have available. Whether you agree or disagree, it is up to you. This is your district. Your tax dollars fund it. If you have any feeling on the direction the district should go, please let the district board of directors know by writing P.O. Box 585, Baker City, OR 97814. You are also welcome at any of our board meetings.

Jim Lunders is manager and biologist of the Baker Valley Vector Control District. Reach him at 523-1151.