Since 1974, the city of Edmonton has had a mosquito repellent program, including an aerial component for the past decade, to target mosquito bites. The aerial program developed granules, the size of cat sand, from helicopters at low altitudes to stagnant bodies of water to reduce the number of mosquito larvae that hatch. This program is complemented by pesticide soil applications from city crews only on roadside ditches and other temporary bodies of water. All pesticides used are approved by Health Canada and recommended by the World Health Organization. On Monday, the city council voted 9-4 to spend the $ 507,000 that would normally go to the air program and set up an educational campaign and biological pest control measures. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and Couns. Tim Cartmell, Sarah Hamilton and Karen Principe voted against the new direction. Michael Janz, a Papastew district councilor, suggested the proposal, saying it would help the city balance the need to conserve ecological biodiversity and the “nuisance” that mosquitoes can create. “This allows us to spend the money, I think, more responsibly in the future,” he told the council. He suggested the city consider using bat boxes, introducing dragonflies into known mosquito habitats, and encouraging Edmonton residents through an educational campaign to tackle stagnant water on their property or use swingers as swingers. mosquitoes. “I hope, after a while, through these interventions, I think we will not even have to spend it all because nature will have cured, and the excessive prey, the mosquitoes we have now, one day the predators will catch up with them. “, Said Janz. “Some adjustments will be needed, but nature heals,” he added. Representing sipiwiyiniwak, Hamilton said that while supporting conservation efforts, eliminating targeted methods used by city crews “There are a lot of environmental measures being taken,” he said. “Cutting budgets for something that people have seen value in and talked about the value they see in the program is not wise for me,” Hamilton added. According to a report to the city council, without the aerial program, the number of mosquitoes in the city would “probably” increase, especially in years of heavy rainfall. Cartmell presented a proposal to delay the mosquito repellent change by one year to give Edmonton residents time to respond and the city to gather feedback and additional data. This was voted down, with only Sohi, Cartmell, Hamilton, Principe and Andrew Knack supporting. Erin Rutherford, Anirniq’s consultant, said she supported the shift to natural pest control to reduce the impact on birds and other migratory species in the Edmonton area. “Although research has shown very clearly that this is not so harmful, I think we should always look at it from an ecosystem perspective,” Rutherford told city councilors. “I’m worried about the biodiversity crisis we’re in right now and the amount of poultry, for example, that relies on (mosquito) larvae to survive.”
