| Effective
mosquito control may reduce exposure to West Nile Virus
Introduction
Effective mosquito control requires advance planning and preparation
at each respective site where mosquito’s are a nuisance. Management
must understand and communicate effectively to all its personnel
and all visitors that mosquito eradication IS NOT possible. Reasonable
control through responsible means is possible if our NYS certified
pest control technician and your management have clear expectations
and open communication. The professionals at Tree Health Management
are available to provide technical assistance in tailoring your
mosquito control program to meet your needs and applying the safest
control measures feasible. We pride ourselves on regular timely
applications as environmental considerations demand. We do not work
by calendar dates. For your consideration, a preliminary framework
is outlined below.
Funding, Management and Personnel Requirements
Funding
Each respective property manager funds Mosquito control programs,
directly. The amount of time and material your mosquito program
demands directly relates to final costs.
Management
THM mosquito control programs are coordinated by your assigned Certified
applicator. This assigned applicator will handle your account soup
to nuts. He will notify you at least one day before inspecting and
treating your situation. All site inspections and applications are
documented and then you are notified what actions were taken and
any other recommendations or comments. The backbone of all our services
is uncompromising customer service. We will make you happy, period.
Personnel Requirements
Personnel needs and material will depend on the level of service
you require. Your program will may include application of pesticides
as well as biological controls. All our personnel are licensed through
the State of NY and go through in-house professional training. We
can provide educational seminars to management or any other group
who may request additional information.
Know Your Target
-Flight times
-Travel distance
-Habitat preference
-Seasonal distribution
Know Your Area
To optimize your resources it is necessary to have comprehensive
and detailed knowledge of the immediate and surrounding area. This
requires locating and prioritizing the treatment areas (mapping).
Therefore your plan should include the following:
-Defining the treatment areas
-Prioritizing the potential treatment areas
-Locating productive mosquito habitat within the protected area
-Evaluating the mosquito production adjacent to the protected
areas
-Timing the work
-Choosing equipment and control products
-Assigned Certified Pesticide Applicator finalized action with
your “people”
-Re-inspect and go from there
Define Operational Strategies
At the outset, it is necessary to develop a strategy in order to
direct control efforts toward each mosquito population affecting
the citizens of your county. Central to this goal are the following
issues:
Survey
Develop and maintain a map system that includes
the following information
- The area under your protection
- Access routes into the area
- Mosquito production zones
Monitoring Procedures
- Initiate routine monitoring procedures that include larval
and adult counts, identified to species.
- Define thresholds - the acceptable landing counts in your area.
- Develop procedures to receive and respond to mosquito complaints.
Develop and Plan Control Strategies for
each type of production zone
- Analyze each zone individually to determine which control strategy
will provide the most sound and effective control - prevention,
larvicide or adulticide controls.
Evaluate and Refine your Plan taking into
consideration
- Available equipment
- Availability of experienced operators
- Surveillance history of the area
- Surrounding habitat and environmental limitations/hazards
Record Keeping and Program Review
Future prioritizing will be greatly facilitated by accurate and
complete surveillance histories and pesticide application records. |
