It’s been a year since the city of McMinnville stopped spraying for mosquitoes and local residents are feeling the effects of the decision, literally.
“We can’t sit outside,” said city resident June Haley. “We try and sit outside on the front porch some, but mosquitoes are everywhere. I tried to look for standing water to eliminate it, like they told me to do, but there is no standing water.”
Haley says she called McMinnville Public Works Department last year about a mosquito problem and was told to eliminate all standing water because the city’s equipment was down and spraying had stopped.
Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The creatures will use dirty water in fountains, buckets, tires or gutters to breed.
“I looked around my house and found a fountain that had standing water in it,” she said. “I cleaned it out and it helped. There is no standing water this year. It has to be because the city stopped spraying. The first summer was OK, but not this summer. I can already tell it is going to be bad for mosquitoes this year.”
After hearing concerns about the blood-sucking pests from residents, McMinnville Mayor Norman Rone went to Riverfront Park to check conditions there.
“Within just a few minutes, they were landing on me,” Rone said. “We stopped spraying because our equipment was worn out and needed to be replaced. We are actively looking for something, a new method that is more effective than what we were using.”
The city was told its old efforts were ineffective by experts.
“Our method was, in essence, just burning oil and shooting it into the trees and bushes,” said Rone. “It was a big cloud that dissipated into the air. We were told the mosquitoes would just move from one place to another. They would avoid that area. All we were doing was moving them around.”
Ideas discussed by officials included aerial spraying from a plane and a community education program about ways residents can help prevent an increase in the mosquito population.
Haley says she went from no mosquitoes when spraying was done to being “bugged” by the city’s decision to stop spraying.
“I could tell the difference when the city was spraying,” she said. “It was effective. I know some people didn’t like the spraying, but it did help with the mosquito problem. It bugged me when they stopped spraying. They’ve eliminated so many other things, but this should not be one of them.”
Spraying will once again be done this year, says Rone.
“We will be spraying,” he said. “Hopefully, by the time summer gets here. We are currently looking into a spray that falls and sticks, which is more effective compared to a cloud that dissipates into the air.”
Residents are encouraged to remove all standing water in an effort to prevent an increase in the mosquito population.