Helicopters in Mendota Heights Today to Prevent Mosquitoes Tomorrow

Helicopters over Mendota Heights applied mosquito control pellets to wetland areas early Friday.

The Minnesota Mosquito Control District is the local government agency responsible for mosquito control. It is funded through a tax on the seven-county metro area.

They focus predominantly on larval control, said Public Information Officer Mike McLean, by dropping granules resembling a Grape-Nut with a mosquito-targeted bacterium on it into the water, which the mosquitoes then eat. The bacterium does not affect other insects or animals, said McLean, but disrupts mosquitoes’ digestive systems.

The helicopters do not spray any form of insecticide into the air.

The MMCD can also provide adult mosquito control in response to a city’s request or neighborhood complaints. Private companies should be contacted to provide mosquito control for individual properties, said McLean.

MMCD employees on foot can spray or fog an area with insecticide before events such as concerts in the park or sporting events, though the city of Mendota Heights does not put in additional requests beyond the MMCD's regular work, said assistant city administrator Jake Sedlacek.

Residents can do their part by reducing mosquito breeding grounds on their property. McLean said that later in the summer is when dangerous mosquito-borne illnesses start cropping up, like La Crosse encephalitis, which causes swelling of the brain. The more severe illnesses are carried by “container-breeding mosquitoes” that would usually breed in the holes of trees, but can easily relocate to a pile of junk, flower pots and tarps collecting rainwater in a backyard, especially along wooded tree lines.

The MMCD will collect spare tires for no charge in an effort to eliminate those types of breeding grounds from neighborhoods.