A relatively wet July in and around Salmon Arm has prompted an itch for information regarding mosquito control.
On the agenda for city council's July 14 meeting were two mosquito-related items, an email from a Gleneden resident and a presentation by local taxonomist Dr. Art Borkent.
In the July 7 email, the Gleneden resident notes outdoor living is "prohibitive at the moment with the MASSIVE flux of mosquitoes we've had in the last weeks." The asked that the city consider a mosquito control program similar to what's used within the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD).
The regional district administers mosquito control programs in Golden, Revelstoke, electoral areas A and B, and in Scotch Creek. The program involves the use of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, a group of bacteria that produces toxins effective in killing mosquito larvae, but is considered non-toxic to fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and most insects.
Borkent, however, had a different take on Bacillus thuringiensis and mosquito control in general.
"My professional opinion is it香蕉视频直播檚 ineffective," said Borkent, who suggested the $33,000 the city budgets annually for mosquito control could be better used on things like bike paths.
Borkent began his presentation by sharing some numbers. He said there's about 80 mosquito species in Canada, 48 in B.C. and "probably around 34 species that live in our area." Of the latter, "a few of those bite us but most of them don't, and some of them provide important eco-system services香蕉视频直播� some of them are important pollinators of orchids. So they do other things that are important."
The doctor proceeded to explain the recent abundance of mosquitoes. He said it has to do with their dessication-resistant eggs.
"Their eggs can dry up, so they香蕉视频直播檝e invaded a habitat that virtually no other insects are in," said Borkent. "These are the temporary pools, the little temporary ponds that form in springtime and dry up香蕉视频直播�
"These pools dry up and the mosquito larvae leave a smell behind, so the next year, these mosquitoes emerge as adults, they fly around and lay their eggs in those little dips where there香蕉视频直播檚 wet areas. The next year, if it香蕉视频直播檚 a dry year, the mosquitoes, the female mosquitoes can smell where the larvae have been... and they lay their eggs in that dip香蕉视频直播� That can happen four, five, six years in a row, and then we have a wet year and suddenly what you in essence have is all of those generations emerging all at once香蕉视频直播� and that香蕉视频直播檚 why we have these huge populations."
Another factor behind Borkent's opinion on mosquito control has to do with the insect's habit of dispersing through the windstream.
"They香蕉视频直播檒l often go 10s of kilometres, so the mosquitoes that are bugging us can come from an amazing distance," he said.
The female mosquitoes that do the biting are drawn to humans by their breath.
"They can smell your carbon dioxide from 500 metres away, so basically when somebody is breathing, there香蕉视频直播檚 this little plume that goes out of carbon dioxide and they track the edge of that coming, and and then they use other things once they get in proximity香蕉视频直播�," said Borkent, adding that's why places like Little Mountain and Pilieated Woods parks can have mosquitoes even if there are no pools for larvae.
"In essence then, it香蕉视频直播檚 almost impossible to get at all the little habitats, all the little pools that are up on the hillside, on Mount Ida and all around," said Borkent. "It香蕉视频直播檚 impossible to get at them to produce any sort of control. There香蕉视频直播檚 piles of them and you can spray ditches and spray the places where you can see little pools, but this is just a small fraction of what is out there."
Coun. Sylvia Lindgren said the city has received a few letters asking about mosquito control.
"Salmon Arm is currently using mosquito control but this has been a very wet spring, so I understand now why we have a larger-than-normal population of mosquitoes out there香蕉视频直播�, said Lindgren.
Coun. Kevin Flynn said he's been at the council table for 21 years, and at the CSRD for about half that time, and he "never really understood the programs and their efficacy and their pros and cons."
"You香蕉视频直播檝e helped me understand a bit better and it almost sounds like it香蕉视频直播檚 not worth spending the money," said Flynn. "I香蕉视频直播檓 not necessarily going there but I appreciate the information and will possibly come to you for more information."
