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Stalking Mosquitoes

By Zane McCallister

Grand River Mosquito Control District

Email: grmcd1@acsol.net

970-257-0191

Site AnnoyancePotential

Topics of Discussion

� Pareto Principle� Mosquito Control� Mosquito Control Dilemma� Site Annoyance Potential� Discussion

� Vilfredo Pareto� French-Italian

sociologist, philosopher and economist

� Studied distribution of wealth in 1897

� Recognized that 80% of wealth was held by 20% of population

The Pareto Principle Pareto Principle Incognito

� The 80 – 20 Rule

� Factor Scarcity Rule

� Law of the Vital Few20%20% 80%80%

Customers Profits

Carpet Wear

Motorists Accidents

Thieves Loot

Students Disciplinary Problems

Clothes Wear

Expenses Cash

Jockeys Races

Time Productivity

Contrary to Popular Beliefs

There is an imbalance between effort and reward

Pareto and Pest Control?

� Case Study of how it might apply to mosquito control.

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Mosquito Control

� Objective� To limit the number of mosquitoes that have the

opportunity to feed on constituents.

� To limit the environmental impact of efforts.

Mosquitoes

� Mosquitoes are Dipterans� Two wings

� Complete metamorphosis� Must complete life cycle in

water

� Water must be stagnant� 32% of their lives is spent in

water

Mosquito Variation

� Over 3000 species� 26 known in Valley

� 13 common in Valley

� 2 important genera� Permanent water

� Flood borne

Mosquito Habitat

� Flood borne� Agricultural flood plains

� Colorado River flood plains

� Permanent water source� Pools

� Lakes

� Storm drains

The GRMCD

� A program based on larval control requires:� Regular inspection of

each breeding site

� Treatments to water sources that contain mosquitoes

� Record keeping

� Consistency

The Control Dilemma

� Time consuming� Visiting 1,680 sites each week

� Labor intensive ($)� Sites are remotely located

� Must be monitored by people

� Seasonal workforce� Train new each year

� No knowledge carried yr to yr

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Breaking It Down

32

4 5 6

1

32

4 5 6

1 32

4 5 6

1

32

4 5 6

1

32

4 5 6

1 32

4 5 6

1

32

4 5 6

1 32

4 5 6

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73 Sq. miles46,514 acres

8 Employee5,814 acres each

6 Day Rotation 969 acres / day

35 stagnant water sources / day

The Solution

� Narrow focus by one more factor

� Prioritized daily task list

� Empower employee with knowledge

The Fifth Factor: S.A.P.

� Narrow focus by one more factor

� Prioritized daily task list

� Empower employee with knowledge (which site is most important?)

Site Annoyance Potential

Broods per Year Average Larvae per Dip

Size of Site (acres) Distance from the Edge of the District

S.A.P.

Size Matters

� Not all mosquito breeding sites are created equal (How Big is the site?)

Broods Per Year

� How often will mosquitoes be produced at this site?� One and done (flood plain)

� Early and often (Flood plain turned permanent)

� Steady and reliable (Permanent)

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Larvae Per Dip

� What is a dip?...

The mosquito hunters acceptable unit of measure

Distance

� How far is the site from the edge of the control area?� Distance to the edge

of district

� Equation applied using Sjogren and Genereux (1987)

Flight Capabilities

� Edge of the district -50% chance

� Middle of the district -100% chance

� Corner of the district -25% chance

Generic district boundaries

Data Collection

� The data collection tool� Broods per year

� Larvae per dip

� Size of the site

Data

� The breadth and scope of the data� How many years

� How many times per year

� The more the merrier

Results

Site Identification

Average Larvae per dip

Broods per year

Size Distancefrom edge

S.A.P.

1.1.10 5.71 7 2.0975 0.76 = 63.764

1.1.6 5.88 7 1.6011 0.76 = 50.042

1.1.25 8.33 6 0.8759 0.76 = 33.284

1.1.35 13.00 2 1.6609 0.76 = 32.819

1.1.26 4.57 7 1.2541 0.76 = 30.499

� This is what the results might look like after being compiled

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Results

Site Identification

Average Larvaeper dip

Broods per year

Size Distance from edge

S.A.P.

3.2.16 13.17 6 16.0554 0.76 = 963.969

3.2.10 6.60 5 6.5785 0.76 = 164.990

3.2.13 6.50 2 2.5569 0.76 = 25.262

3.2.18 5.00 1 2.5088 0.76 = 9.534

3.2.1 5.00 2 1.2455 0.76 = 9.466

� Same ‘chart’ Different day

Using S.A.P.

� Arm employees with this knowledge� Allow field techs to

make on the ground decisions

� Cover the day within the SAP framework

Using SAP

� 75 square miles� 8 full time employees

� 6 day rotation� 30-40 sites per day

� Prioritized daily task list (based on S.A.P.)

General Pest Control

� Use data that you already have, to prioritize what matters most.

� Personalize S.A.P. to your meet your organizations needs or goals.

S.A.P.

The End