City works to alleviate mosquito nuisance
Crews fog along creeks and in neighborhoods with malathion to kill the bloodsuckers
Staff writer
Harold Conyers of Marion likes to garden, but he doesn’t like mosquitoes. And this summer seems to him as if it has been a bad time for mosquitoes.
He tries to protect himself when he gardens, but no method is foolproof.
“If they’re hungry, they’re going to bite you,” Conyers said last week.
To alleviate the nuisance, city workers drive through Marion and along creeks with a fogging machine.
Employees Clayton Garnica and Jeff Harper put the fogging machine to work July 13. It was the fourth fogging of the summer.
Fogging the entire town takes three hours. It takes just an hour for only the creeks, Garnica said.
“I think we got a pretty good kill last night, because I haven’t seen any mosquitoes today,” street superintendent Marty Fredrickson said July 14.
Marion uses malathion, which doesn’t pose a significant health risk for humans at the rate it is applied, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The chemical does have an unpleasant odor, Harper said. The first time he operated the fogging machine, it gave him a headache.
Malathion kills only adult mosquitoes, so it is important to spray when they are most active — during the evening and into the night. Workers also use briquettes that kill larvae in standing water, Fredrickson said.
Standing water is a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes, he said. Even a 5-gallon bucket can hold hundreds of mosquito larvae. Fredrickson said residents should dump out any container that collects rainwater.
Last modified July 21, 2010