2.0. SR 09-04-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2001 was a banner year for mosquitoes in Minnesota. Mosquito control is hot topic by Nicole Jacob Staff. wr/ter Half a dozen residents -- and a crippled monarch butterfly-- were at Mon- day's city council meeting for a mosquito control pub- lic hearing. Mike McLean of the state- run Metropolitan Mos- quito Control district and Gary More, a private sprayer, were on hand to discuss their methods of control and answer ques- tions. After hearing testimony from both men, the city council seemed most inter- ested in hiring a private contractor to spray the area for adult mosquitoes as needed. No action was taken at the meeting; how- ever, city staff will continue to research options. McLean said that his office has taken approx/- ma~ely 2,500 calls from irate residents, a few hun- dred of wix/ch he said were from the Elk River area, who ~vere tired of dealing with mosquitoes. The , Metropolitan Mosquito ' Control distr/ct focuses its efforts on mosquito larval' control in the seven-county ~ metro area (which does not include Sherburne ' CounTy). According to McLean, there are 75 percent less mosquitoes in the metro area than in outlying areas. He believes this is largely due to mosquito control efforts. One of the first questions McLean had to answer from the crowd was one regarding the safety of the chemicals used to control mosquitoes. 'I have grave concerns about insecticides," Carl Bloomquist said. He and his wife sat in the first row of seats, holding a monarch butterfly that was unable to fly and could barely walk. Bloomquist, who raises monarchs, said insecticides can kill or crip- ple butterflies, and he asked McLean to.respond. "There's no doubt about it. We have an effect on the environment," McLean said. "But we're as careful as we can be." He added that the chemi- cals used by Metropolitan · Mosquito Control are safer than the ones used in Gaylord, Minn. which ended up killing a number of butterflies. The chemi- cals are also less stringent than those available to the public at home and garden shops, McLean said. Building and zoning supervisor Steve Rohlf has headed up the city's research on mosquito con- trol. There had been dis- cussion that the city may want to purchase its own spraying equipment and do its own mosquito control. Rohlf said that joining the Metropolitan Mosquito Control or hiring a private sprayer would be a better option. Discussion on the matter will continue.