After receiving considerable rainfall in the past week, Rapid City could be witnessing an early-season appearance of that irritating, pesky pest of summer — the mosquito.
City Parks officials say it’s not all that unusual for mosquitos to make an early-season appearance in May, especially after a late-season snowfall or considerable rainfall such as last weekend’s precipitation event, which is then followed by a warm-up period.
“We’ve had hatches in May,” said City Parks Division Manager Scott Anderson. “It’s not unusual for our crews to be out during the second half of May placing larvicide in standing water areas of our parks, greenways and ditches.”
Each season, crews with the City’s Parks Division and Stormwater Drainage Division initiate the season’s mosquito control actions by placing larvicide briquettes, which last 120 days, in standing water areas within the park system to control mosquito larvae. Anderson says crews will be out placing the briquettes in areas over the next few weeks.
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“I remember May of 2015 when we had heavy snow dumped on the Rapid City area around the Mother’s Day period, followed by warm temperatures,” Anderson said. “Our crews were actually out doing some spot spraying because of an immediate hatch of mosquitos throughout the community.”
Anderson said City residents can assist greatly in the effort to control mosquitos, especially around their homes.
“The best action residents can take is to get rid of standing water areas around their homes,” said Anderson. “Standing water areas are where mosquitos can lay their eggs and larvae can grow. Residents can also utilize topical application of repellant products containing DEET for personal use against mosquitos during the late spring and summer. Wearing clothes such as long-sleeve shirts and pants can also be helpful.”
Anderson said the larvicide briquettes “make for a good control measure and can last a long time.” He said Parks crews will be checking and monitoring parks and greenway areas for mosquitos and Stormwater Drainage Division crews will be checking and treating drainage areas and storm sewer inlets with briquettes.
As the season progresses and if mosquito populations increase, Anderson said crews can initiate fogging operations, especially in and around large activity areas such as baseball and soccer fields and park areas where people gather for outings and activities.
“Fogging can be harmful to bees so we really push the briquettes and ask for the help of homeowners to minimize standing water areas,” Anderson said. “If we do proceed to fogging, we work hard to communicate our activities to the community so they know when and where we are spraying so those with private hives can take necessary precautions.”
For more information or to report mosquito problems, contact the Parks Division at (605) 394-4175.
