Tides that flood saltmarshes lead to mosquito eggs hatching.
Tides in the Peel Harvey Estuary can rise unexpectedly due to low pressure systems, northerly winds and local climatic events.
As a guide when tides in the Peel Region reach 0.76m, hatching of mosquito eggs is likely to be initiated on most breeding sites.
Our mosquito control officer monitors breeding sites to assess the extent and location of mosquito breeding and determine when to conduct treatments.
The mosquito growth cycle is an important consideration because treatments are only effective in the larval stage and not the pupal or adult stage. There may be multiple cohorts of larvae activated by separate trigger tides and an ideal application would treat these before any mosquitoes emerge as adults.
Weather conditions are also taken into account because:
- Wind affects helicopter safety and the even distribution of larvicide
- Rain reduces visibility and clumps granular treatments, affecting its application
- Strong incoming tides can dilute larvicide and strong outgoing tides can wash larvicide out to sea
We time our treatments so that they have the greatest impact on the mosquito numbers.