How are adult mosquitoes controlled?
Adult mosquitoes are controlled by treating high risk areas with insecticides applied with ground equipment or aircraft. Adult control is usually done as a last resort when the healths risks from West Nile virus or other mosquito borne illness outweigh the risk from exposure to the insecticide. Adult control lasts a few days at best as the killed mosquitoes are replaced by others that have flown in from untreated areas or that have emerged from breeding sites after the treatment. Adult control may have to be repeated several times until the risk of disease transmission is sufficiently reduced.
