GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Mark Travis is gearing up for mosquito season.
“We’re going to get a lot of calls,” he said.
As owner of Grand Rapids Pest Control, he knows a thing or two about mosquitoes.
One, they need water and heat to hatch. Two, he knows what to use to kill them. “[I use] Tempo Ultra Wettable Powder,” he pulled a white container from his van.
As flood waters from the Grand River recede, standing water is left behind in areas that dip. “You’re going to have a lot of organic material in there,” he said that material attracts mosquitoes.
“So when you get the water on top of there, that’s a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes,” he added.
Here’s an option to prevent them from bugging you. “We can treat the water. There’s a bacteria that we can use. They call it ‘mosquito dunks’,” he explained.
Anyone can buy mosquito dunks off store shelves and place them in problem areas.
Alex Mcilhargey has grown used to the pest and doesn’t use much more than repellant.
That’s because there’s a swamp behind his childhood home. Behind the swamp is the bloated Grand River.
“It almost breached our backyard. We`ve never had it come that high before, but I don`t know the patterns with mosquitoes and their eggs and what not,” Mcilhargy said.
Travis said, “When mosquitoes lay eggs, they’ll lay them at different levels, different heights and so the eggs are viable for up to 10 years.”
So if unhatched eggs are in normally dry areas turned wet by flooding, Travis said “a lot of mosquito eggs” are going to hatch “that normally wouldn`t.”
In addition to using mosquito dunks or calling a professional, Travis suggests emptying dirty water from bird feeders. Tires and children’s outdoor toys are also items where water collects.
