Mosquito Control Program

Suffolk's Mosquito Control Division has determined that the most effective approach to mosquito control is through an integrated program that incorporates several control methods based on the stages of the mosquito life cycle (as described in the Mosquito Biology section of the Web site). Each of these methods compliments the other - and with the addition of public education - provide effective control of mosquitoes:

• Surveillance: is the monitoring of mosquito populations. Data collected through surveillance provides insight into the mosquito species present and population densities. The data provides the basis for scheduling mosquito treatments.
• Source Reduction: is the elimination of mosquito breeding grounds, such as simply changing bird bath water on a regular basis and removing debris from yards.
• Larvaciding: is the reduction in number of mosquito larva through chemical treatment of water that cannot be drained or emptied.
• Adulticiding: reduces the number of adult (flying) mosquitoes that have escaped other control methods. This method is usually conducted with truck mounted ULV (ultra-low volume) misters.