Adult Surveillance or (trapping) is part of NMVCD's Integrated Mosquito Management approach (IMM) and provides the district with valuable information:

1. Surveillance confirms where high volumes of mosquito activity are occuring.
2.  By collecting and evalutating the various species of mosquitoes, mosquito technicians can assess if the mosquito control practices being used in the field are effective or if an unknown mosquito breeding site has developed.
3. Knowing the mosquito species and population allows NMVCD to target adulticiding activities (fogging) to specific areas in the district.
4. Most importantly adult surveillance alerts if there is risk of mosquito born disease.

Mosquito traps are set at fixed locations throughout the district. Each week from June thru October, NMVCD monitors approximatley 50 mosquito traps through out the district. The traps are set in the late afternoon and retrieved the next morning. After the traps have been collected they are brought back to our lab where a lab technician Identifies and separates the mosquitoes species from each trap and records the data. The Culex species collected, are carefully placed into vials and properly packaged and shipped to Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The lab test the mosquitoes for three varieties of mosquito borne disease,  West Nile virus (WNV), Western Equine encephalitis (WEE) and Saint Louis encephalitis (SLE).  The results are emailed to NMVCD , if a positive result is found the policy and procedures put in place by NMVCD are followed until the positive threat is no longer detected.  

NMVCD uses largely three types of traps:

The encephalitis vector surveillance (EVS) traps use carbon Dioxide (CO2) to attract female mosquitoes looking for a blood meal. The EVS trap is our most used trap, because of its mobility and ability to trap both pestiferous and disease transferring mosquitoes.

Surveillance Technician setting an EVS Trap.

Truck is ready for trapping!

The Biogents Sentinel Traps use Carbon Dioxide (CO2) as well as an optional syenthetic human scent lure to attract mosquitoes. These traps are capable of trapping a broad variety of mosquitoes.

Biogent Sentinel trap.

Setting the trap!