Adult Mosquito Control

The City of Wahpeton employs a comprehensive mosquito control program that's comprised of 4 sectors; surveillance, source reduction, larviciding and adulticiding. Each sector plays an important role in reducing the risk of mosquito-borne disease and reducing the nuisance level of mosquitoes. While most of our resources are expended in surveillance and larviciding, the adulticiding program is an important component to the overall program as this provides the direct means to control adult mosquitoes and reduce the risk of mosquito-born disease. The pesticides used for adult mosquito control are registered by the EPA for use in residential, municipal and recreational areas. These products are applied on the ground using truck-mounted sprayers or sometimes by aircraft. State and local agencies commonly use the organophosphate insecticides malathion and naled and the synthetic pyrethroid insecticides prallethrin, etofenprox, pyrethrins, permethrin, resmethrin and sumithrin for adult mosquito control.  The City of Wahpeton primarily uses permethrin.

Mosquito adulticides are applied as ultra-low volume (ULV) sprays.  ULV sprayers dispense very fine aerosol droplets that stay aloft and kill flying mosquitoes on contact, there is no residual effect to these chemical droplets. ULV applications involve small quantities of pesticide active ingredient in relation to the size of the area treated, typically less than 4.5 ounces per acre, which minimizes exposure and risks to people and the environment.

Adulticides can be used for public health mosquito control programs without posing risks of concern to the general population or to the environment when applied according to the pesticide label. The City of Wahpeton applies all adulticides according to label rates.

Adult mosquito control is conducted in Wahpeton when the average daily trap count reaches or exceeds 35 (nuisance) mosquitoes per day.  Adult control will also occur when there’s an elevated risk for mosquito-borne disease.