Natural Ways to Control Mosquitoes Without Using Pesticides

People are asking how to control mosquitoes without spraying pesticides.

This is the answer.

This article is based upon a book named Mosquito Brigades

by Ronald Ross, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Doctor of Public Health, Fellow of the Royal Society

Walter Myers Lecturer in Tropical Medicine, Major, Indian Medical Service, retired.

Ronald Ross spent most of his life as a medical person studying mosquito biology, Yellow Fever and Malaria in India and Africa.  After retiring, he wrote this book in 1901, published in 1902 is available today.  These suggestions are based upon his knowledge of mosquito behavior as it relates to mosquito borne diseases. 

If CMCD would carry out these suggestions.  It would greatly reduce the mosquito population in Collier County while protecting the health of the human population.  He rejects what he calls extermination practices as temporary and impractical.

Spraying insecticide or larvicide kills some adult mosquitoes or larva, but it also kills just about every other kind of insect including water born insects, spiders and dragonflies.  The pesticides are also detrimental to mosquito eating birds and bats. 

After spraying, more mosquitoes will emerge in a few days from mosquito breeding habitats like pools, containers and bromeliad plants holding water. Mosquitoes seldom travel more than 100 yards from where they originate.  

Organophosphates, like Naled (Dibrom) for example, have been shown to be moderately to highly toxic to birds, moderately to very highly toxic to freshwater fish, and very highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates, according to the National Pesticide Information Center.  Amphibians have aquatic tadpoles and permeable skin making them vulnerable to environmental toxins, and susceptible to insecticides used for mosquito control.

Mosquitoes may travel outside of their immediate breeding area if it lacks suitable hosts for blood meals. 

Mosquito Brigade's Recommendations for Regenerative Mosquito Control

The Collier Mosquito Control District (CMCD) must immediately stop all arial, truck and backpack spraying of insecticides, larvicides or any other pesticides of any kind anywhere in Collier County.

The only exceptions are roadside ditches. Granular larvicides that are effective for up to 28 days should be broadcast into the roadside ditches from trucks.  The trucks could apply the material to standing water in roadside d

itches by driving through as many streets as possible for 28 days and then return to where they started.  

The CMCD should form as many two man “Mosquito Teams” as needed to combat mosquitoes on the ground.  The teams would visit locations where mosquitoes are reported and proceed as follows:

This procedure would usually correct a reported home mosquito problem within 24 hours.

Crews of trained technicians would carry on as follows:

1.  Visit the location where mosquitoes have been reported and verify that the report is legitimate.

2.   Speak to the owner about the problem and get permission to check the property for mosquito breeding habitat.

3.   Set mosquito traps to identify what species of mosquitos are in the area. 

4.    Remove containers and drain or fill stagnant pools that can provide breeding habitat for mosquitoes.

5.    Remove ornamental bromeliad plants that tend to hold water that mosquitoes can use for breeding.

6.    Release mosquito eating fish where appropriate.

7.    Release dragonflies to control adult mosquitoes already in the air.

8.    Offer to setup bird houses and bat boxes for future mosquito control.

9.    Check neighboring property for mosquito breeding sites.

10.  Work with the DNR to manage the increased population of wildlife.

Twenty teams could easily handle mosquito control in Collier County.  The overall CMCD budget would easily be reduced by 50% with no longer a need to maintain expensive aircraft and hanger facilities.

This procedure would by likely to reduce the CMCD annual budget by at least 15 million dollars and allow for equivalent property tax decreases.

Thank you, for reading.