Idaho Fish and Game Takes Preventive Steps
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is part of the state’s public health outreach on West Nile virus. In addition, the department is taking preventive steps on its own properties to reduce the visiting public’s exposure to mosquitoes.
Fish and Game’s goal is to manage its properties for wildlife, their primary objectives, but to address public health concerns. Other states, which have addressed mosquito control for decades, provide Idaho with proven mosquito control practices that are also wildlife friendly. They minimize the use of pesticides that pose a risk to fish and wildlife.
A well-known fact among mosquito control experts is that 80 percent of a mosquito problem is often caused by 20 percent of the habitat. By focusing on areas of standing water where mosquitoes breed, a landowner can dramatically reduce the mosquito population without adversely affecting other insects and wildlife. Reducing breeding sites can be as simple as removing used tires, cleaning rain gutters, finding and turning over containers that can hold water. At Wildlife Management Areas and fish hatcheries this includes cutting grassy areas around parking lots and other locations with high public visitation. Some Wildlife Management Areas are reducing watering schedules to eliminate standing water and improving drainage systems to facilitate storm water runoff.
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