Th Regional District of Kootenay Boundary’s mosquito control program is underway, but resident complaints about mosquitoes are increasingly piling up.
According to RDKB Emergency Operations Centre information officer Kevin McKinnon, the annual program has been underway by for about two weeks in Grand Forks and Christina Lake.
The RDKB contracts a company to provide mosquito control for the area.
“It is well underway even though it may not appear that way with the sheer number of mosquitoes,” McKinnon said. “Mosquitoes thrive in standing water and we have had an awful lot more of that this year than usual.”
This year, because of the flooding, McKinnon said they will expand the program to the West Boundary as needed to combat increased mosquitoes as a result of more standing water.
The mosquito control program is delivered via helicopter. McKinnon said the program is using the same tools this year as in past years, but “ramped up” to account for the number of mosquitoes.
The mosquito program typically operates on a list of “hot spots” for mosquitoes where there is standing water; McKinnon said obviously the guides of years past have not been as applicable this year because of new water.
“They maintain the list of impacted areas to target those areas as well as the general work,” he said. “They do general coverage with a focus on hot spots, obviously because of the volume of water and additional water, they situation is much worse this year.”
To that end, residents and neighbourhoods particularly hard hit by mosquitoes are being asked to contact the contractor, Morrow BioScience, identifying themselves as a resident of the RDKB and report the area so it can be added to the list of areas to target. Morrow BioScience can be reached at 1-877-986-3363.
