May 4, 2006

• We received an average of 1.02 inches of rain last week. Total rainfall for the month of April was about an inch below normal.
• Mosquito activity is a 1 for the entire city. Mosquito activity was lower early this week do to high winds and cooler temperatures.

• Eleven CDC style traps were set this week and a total of 55 mosquitoes were caught, with an average of 5 mosquitoes per trap night. Trap counts were down this week due to the high winds and cooler temperatures. Trap counts will increase next week as the weather improves.

• There were no service requests this week. There have only been 6 total requests for service for 2006. Most calls are in regard to standing water or clogged ditches that have potential to breed mosquitoes.

• Staff continue to systematically inspect and treat active mosquito breeding sites thought the city. By the middle of next week we will have completed the first full sweep of the city.
• There are no adult mosquito spraying operations scheduled at this time.

• New for 2006, The City of Portsmouth is awarding an aerial spray contract to have several key mosquito breeding areas treated with a biological larvicide. Staff have identified approximately 100 acres of hard to access mosquito breeding habitats. Dense vegetation with little or no access for motorized vehicles have prevented some areas from being treated. Use of an aerial contractor will facilitate the most cost effective means to regularly treat these hard to reach sites.
• This is on example of how we try new pro-active techniques to control mosquitoes while they are still in the water. Properly timed proactive larval control will reduce the need for more costly and less efficient adult spray operations.