Mosquito fogging not necessary in 'Peg: officials

WINNIPEG - When is a nuisance enough of a nuisance to warrant action? When it comes to mosquitos, the city of Winnipeg says, "not yet."

The city's insect control branch says the buzzing and biting of mosquitoes may be bugging you, but it's not bad enough to start fogging with malathion to kill them.

Insect control spokesman Ken Nowalsky says two things are required before fogging takes place: the number of mosquitos in test traps must reach a certain number, and the weather must co-operate.

"Before we can ever consider going into a nuisance mosquito control program for fogging, we have to have three consecutive nights of 25 or more female mosquitos [in the traps], so we can't even contemplate residential fogging until that set of goals has been achieved."

For the province of Manitoba, a fogging campaign is triggered by West Nile virus, not nuisance mosquitos.

"Right now we look at a number of factors, none of which are present at this time," says Dr. Susan Roberecki is Deputy Chief Medical Officer. "We haven't yet identified West Nile in Manitoba, and were hoping to do that, usually first with birds."

Ontario and Saskatchewan have reported birds infected with West Nile.

To protect yourself from mosquitos, officials suggest covering up exposed skin and wearing insect repellent that contains DEET.




I think Joni Mitchell said it best...


Hey farmer farmer
Put away that d.d.t. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot