July 6, 2006

• Again, heavy rainfall is the major story for this week. The city received 2.41 inches of rain last week. Heavy rainfall coupled with the extremely warm temperatures will likely lead to increased mosquito numbers over the next week or so.
• Mosquito activity remains a 2 for most of the city. We still have some problem areas on the city’s margins where mosquito numbers are significantly higher.
• Please remember that after any rain event container breeding mosquito numbers are likely to greatly increase due to flooded containers. It is extremely important to remember to dump containers at least once a week.

• 10 CDC style light traps were set this week, a total of 1,842 mosquitoes were caught, for an average of 182 per trap. Trap counts increased slightly from last week, as anticipated.
• 7 Gravid style traps were set this week, a total of 77 mosquitoes were caught, for an average of 11 per trap. Gravid mosquito trap numbers are still low for the entire city.
• Mosquito breeding this week includes containers (birdbaths, flowerpots, clogged rain gutters and drains, buckets, tarps, etc.), roadside ditches, tire ruts, ground depressions.

• We received 2 complaint calls this week. We anticipate calls to increase as container breeding mosquitoes become more of a problem for residents.

• Crews have worked hard to treat standing water throughout the city from the heavy rains. This includes roadside ditches, catch basins, and any other depressions which can hold enough water to breed mosquitoes.
• Adult spray operations are being conducted as weather conditions permit. Remember, Mosquito Truck Fogging can only be conducted when winds are less than 10 miles per hour and there is no rain. If your neighborhood gets rained out, we will reschedule the spraying for the next night.
• Mosquito Spraying information is posted on the Mosquito Spray Hotline at 393-8666.

• Tuesday, July 11, (weather permitting) Portsmouth will have a licensed and qualified contractor flying over the city applying a larvicide to 100 acres of standing water to control the emergence of mosquitoes.
• Residents and beekeepers do not need to take any special precautions. The larvicide is in dry granular form and will only be applied to standing water. The larvicide is mosquito specific (kills only select mosquito species) and poses no threat to humans or animals.
• Specific times of spray activities will be posted on the mosquito spray hotline 393-8666 early next week.