City Continues Mosquito Control Efforts; Fogging Threshold Not Met This Week

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon continues to actively monitor mosquito populations across the city through weekly trap collections and surveillance activities as part of its Mosquito Abatement Program.

At this time, mosquito populations remain below the thresholds established in the Adulticiding Factor Analysis (AFA) guidelines, which are used to determine when fogging should occur.

Because the thresholds outlined in the AFA guidelines have not been met, fogging is not being undertaken at this time.

• To initiate fogging, one of the following criteria must be met:
• The average daily mosquito trap count must exceed 1,000 nuisance mosquitoes
• Any individual trap must record more than 2,000 nuisance mosquitoes
• The AFA rating must fall into and remain in the high category for two consecutive trap counts

Current mosquito trap counts remain well below these thresholds. The highest single trap so far this year was 1,208 mosquitoes. The most recent trap collections recorded average counts of 628 on July 19 and 262 on July 20, with the AFA rated as medium. Counts are updated weekly and available at opengov.brandon.ca.

The City's mosquito control program focuses primarily on larval control, which targets mosquitoes before they emerge as flying adults. A dedicated team regularly monitors and treats standing water throughout Brandon using a granular larvicide approved for mosquito control. Areas showing mosquito larval activity can be treated every two days as needed.

It is important to note that following high-water events, some pools of standing water may be difficult or impossible to access for treatment. In addition, areas connected directly to the Assiniboine River cannot be treated due to Health Canada regulations.

Residents can help reduce mosquito breeding areas on their properties by:

• Emptying containers that collect standing water
• Cleaning and draining eavestroughs
• Covering rain barrels and other water collection containers
• Filling low-lying areas where water tends to accumulate
• Treating standing water with biological larvicide where appropriate

To reduce exposure to mosquitoes, residents are encouraged to use mosquito repellent, wear light-coloured clothing, limit outdoor activities during peak mosquito activity around dusk and dawn, and make use of screened-in spaces whenever possible.