2004 SUMMARY
The Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project (the
Project) currently provides its services to 36 cities and towns throughout
Middlesex and
During 2004 the Project received six thousand, five
hundred and seventy four (6,574) requests for service from town residents and
officials. A total of over six thousand (6,000) pounds of Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) was
applied by helicopter in 2 towns, Chelmsford & Billerica, and five
thousand, five hundred and eighty seven (5,587) pounds by hand throughout our
service area were applied to area wetlands to reduce the emergence of adult
mosquitoes. This represents over two thousand, three hundred and seventeen (2,317)
acres of wetland that was treated with this mosquito-specific bacterium,
significantly reducing adult mosquito populations in these areas. Thirty thousand, seven hundred and sixty one
(30,761) catch basins were treated with larvicidal product to control the
mosquitoes that seek out these cool dark wet areas to breed, including the Culex mosquito, a major target for West
Nile Virus transmission. Five thousand and
nine (5,009) culverts were cleaned in an attempt to eliminate unnecessary
standing water and reduce mosquito breeding.
This work was done in conjunction with cleaning, clearing, and digging
of one hundred and thirty four thousand, nine hundred and fifty one (134,951)
feet of streams, brooks and ditches. This represents almost twenty five and
one-half (25 1/2) miles of waterways which were cleaned and improved by Project
personnel in 2004. 3 ponds were reclaimed in 2004 resulting in seven thousand,
sixty four (7,064) square feet of pond area restored.
The Mosquito Awareness Program which we offer to
elementary schools and other civic organizations in our district has become
very popular. Project staff meets with
students, teachers or concerned residents to discuss mosquito biology, mosquito
habitat, and control procedures. Much of
the presentation is directed towards what children and their families can do to
prevent mosquitoes from breeding around their homes. Slides, videos, coloring
books and other handouts make this an interesting program. This program is
tailored to meet the needs of the specific audience. One thousand, eight hundred
and forty four (1,844) students attended these programs.
As part of our effort to reduce the need for pesticides
we continue to expand our wetlands restoration program. By cleaning clogged and overgrown waterways,
mosquito breeding can be reduced and drainage areas are restored to historic
conditions.
Bti mosquito larvicide is used to treat areas where
mosquito larvae are found. We routinely
check known breeding sites kept in out database, but also encourage the public
to notify us of any areas they suspect could breed mosquitoes. Our field crews will investigate all such
requests and treat the area only if surveillance gathered at the time shows an
imminent threat of mosquito emergence.
Our goal is to manage all mosquito problems with
education, wetlands restoration or larviciding, but we recognize that there are
times when adult mosquito spraying is the only viable solution. In such cases specific areas are treated with
either hand-held or pickup truck mounted sprayers if surveillance gathered at the
time exceeds a pre-determined threshold to warrant an application. This program
is offered on a request-only basis,
and the exclusion process allows residents and/or town officials to exclude
areas under their control from this or any part of our program.
The Project's surveillance program monitors adult
mosquito and larval population density, and is the backbone for prescribing
various control techniques. Specialized
mosquito traps are deployed throughout the Project’s service area to sample for
mosquitoes that may be transmitting mosquito-borne diseases. In conjunction
with the Mass. Dept. of Public Health we sample in areas suspected of harboring
WNV and other viruses. One thousand and thirty (1,030) pools (collections) of
mosquitoes totaling eight thousand, two hundred and eighty (8,280) specimens
were tested for mosquito-borne viruses this year, and two (2) pools of Cs. melanura, one each in Billerica and
Wilmington, were confirmed to be infected with the EEE virus late in the season.
Two (2) horses in these towns were confirmed with EEE but no human cases were
reported. No West Nile Virus was reported in birds, mosquitoes, horses or
humans in 2004.
Educational pamphlets are available to anyone interested
in learning about mosquito control and the services provided by the Project,
and these items are routinely stocked in member Town/City Halls and libraries. Display
boards with information on our program are rotated through area Town Halls
throughout the year. We also have a
website, www.cmmcp.org that has
extensive information on mosquito biology, our control procedures, etc. This
website has become a model for other Mosquito Projects and has been widely used
throughout our service area and beyond.
We would like to thank you for your support during 2004
and we look forward to helping you and your community with its mosquito
problems in 2005 and beyond.