It’s the buzz you never want to hear— mosquitoes swarming around your kids, backyard, or the family cookout.
The City of Broken Arrow is helping control the mosquito population through a comprehensive plan that uses science and technology and goes beyond just spraying pesticides.
“Spraying is the last resort for us,” said Traffic Maintenance Technician Brian Tucker. “Our main goal is larvicide. If we can get them while they’re young, we won’t have to deal with as many issues with adult mosquitoes.”
Plus, the ability to spray depends on the weather. It can’t be rainy, and the wind must not exceed 10 miles per hour. It must be as close to dusk as possible. The product must be changed every three years, or mosquitoes develop a tolerance for it.
“You don’t want that to happen because then you’re not effective,” Tucker said.
When the city receives mosquito complaints through the My Broken Arrow Action Center app or emails, the technicians go out immediately to collect specimens and assess the infestation level by using gravid traps.
Gravid traps are specialized mosquito traps designed to attract and capture egg-carrying female mosquitoes for surveillance and virus testing.
“In some cases, we may also go in another area within that same square mile section and trap there and see if we get any different results,” Tucker said.
This method is a more targeted approach than just spraying pesticide, according to Tucker, who has been with the city for 20 years.
Gravid traps are used throughout the city from May through October. The three-gallon collection traps resemble small round tents. Technicians fill the traps with what Tucker calls “stink water,” a mixture that smells like boiled eggs. Each gravid trap contains a fan, a battery pack, and a net.
“Now, I put roughly around a gallon of our stink water in here, and it really does attract the mosquitoes,” Tucker said. “They love anything that is just outright putrid. So, the stink water does the job.”
The female mosquitoes venture into the traps to lay their eggs.
“It’s the female mosquitoes that are the biters,” he says.
They drink blood to obtain proteins, amino acids, and iron needed for egg development and successful reproduction.
The mosquitoes are collected, then frozen and sent to the Tulsa Health Department for West Nile Virus testing. If they test positive for West Nile, the technicians return immediately to spray that township or the entire square mile sector within 24 hours.
“The other way we will spray is if we have a trap count of 100-plus specimens,” Tucker said. “That is counted as a nuisance, and so we’ll go back and spray that entire township in that regard.”
Tucker said the Tulsa Health Department tests for West Nile Virus on Thursdays, so the technicians diligently set up as many collection sites as possible around the city the other days of the week.
“Come Monday, we are hitting the ground running trying to get as many trap sites as we can so that we have enough specimens to turn into the Tulsa Health Department by Thursday,” Tucker said.
In addition, the city’s GIS Department created software that makes it easier for the technicians to track their traps.
“We’re not exactly at an address all the time,” Tucker said. “We can be in some pretty remote areas trying to get the best spot to trap the mosquitoes. The software tracks our location, date, and time, which helps us know where and when to return to collect the specimens for testing.”
In addition to the gravid traps, the city uses larvicides in storm drains and public ponds.
“If there are public ponds or anything like that, we will treat those weekly,” Tucker said. “The larvicide does not harm fish, waterfowl, or mammals when used as directed.”
When it comes to spraying, beekeepers and others who would like to opt out can do so.
“When we have someone who opts out, we’ve got the software that designates no-spray zones,” Tucker said.
That zone can be a block section around that address, and the software sends us notices when the technicians are close, so they know to stop spray operations there.
“It actually alerts us before we get too close and lets us know not to spray in that area,” Tucker said.
Residents who would like to opt out of mosquito spraying are required to do so every year.
Tucker asks that residents be mindful of their surroundings to help reduce mosquito breeding areas.
“The best way citizens can help us minimize the threat is to clean up around their own properties,” Tucker said.
He recommends the following:
Don’t let water in bird baths become stagnant.
For anything that contains water, try to keep it moving.
Make sure your grass is cut low. Mosquitoes love shady, dense, moist areas.
These steps go a long way in controlling the mosquito population and minimizing the risk of West Nile Virus. Additional information about how to protect your family from mosquitoes can be found on the Mosquito Control page of the city website.
