Although living with mosquitoes is a fact of life during the summer, community-wide efforts from both the city and residents can help to reduce mosquito numbers, and more importantly, decrease the risk for mosquito-borne illnesses like West Nile virus.
The city's innovative mosquito management program uses a combination of traditional tools such as monitoring mosquito populations and tracking West Nile virus infection in mosquitoes. The focus of the program, however, is protecting public and ecosystem health by monitoring and understanding the role that mosquito predators play in naturally reducing mosquitoes and disease risk. Residents play an important role by reducing mosquito breeding habitat on private property and regularly employing measures to avoid mosquito bites.
An Ecological Approach
Of the 57 known species of mosquitoes in Colorado, about a dozen are routinely caught in city mosquito traps. Each of these species has different behaviors, hosts, and breeding site preferences. Mosquitoes inhabit complex ecosystems. Mosquito larvae compete with other species of mosquitoes and non-biting aquatic flies for resources. Both the larval and adult forms are important food sources for an array of aquatic and terrestrial insects and other animals. When wetland ecosystems are in balance, mosquito numbers stay relatively low. The city studies the characteristics of wetlands that maintain lower mosquito presence, and studies the impact that biodiversity can play in reducing the risk of mosquito-borne disease transmission to people. The city monitors both adult and larval mosquito populations. When mosquito larvae are not kept under control by natural predators, a larvicide is applied that targets to kill the mosquito larvae.
