City searching for more mosquito fogging spray

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This article was published 16/04/2024 (644 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With only two doses of the pesticide the City of Brandon uses for mosquito fogging left in inventory, city staff are looking to see if they can find more.

At Monday’s Brandon City Council meeting, Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6) asked what the city was doing with regards to the fogging program after the recent revelation that the City of Winnipeg had purchased the remaining supply of DeltaGuard.

General manager of development services Mark Allard said beyond looking for more DeltaGuard, Brandon is in communication with Health Canada to see if there are any viable alternatives on the market.

His colleague, general manager of operations Patrick Pulak, said staff are considering whether they need to step up larviciding efforts — treating standing bodies of water where mosquitoes lay their eggs with chemicals that kill the insects in their larva stage.

“One of the things we may need to consider is possibly educating the public on what their responsibilities could be if they have standing water in their yard — whether it be in a rain barrel or just a low spot — to encourage them to try and do something to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs or getting rid of the water out of the low spots,” Pulak said.

Pulak added that Manitoba is the one of the few provinces in Canada — if not the only one — that sprays for mosquitoes. The low demand for the spray is one of the reasons it is being discontinued, he said.

Luebke also wanted to know what the city would do about another pest problem: Richardson’s ground squirrels inhabiting municipal parks.

He said he noticed about a dozen new holes dug by the critters in Rideau Park between Friday and Sunday evening.

According to Allard, animal control staff have been in contact with an exterminator to get a program to deal with them going into this spring and summer.

In the announcements portion of the meeting, Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) announced that Sustainable Brandon is holding a community cleanup event this Sunday starting at 11 a.m.

Volunteers can pick up supplies and sign up to participate at Rideau Park, Stanley Park, Lions Memorial Community Park and the Riverbank Discovery Centre.

The person or group that collects the most garbage by weight will win $500. Second place will win $250.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett was absent from the meeting, with Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) acting as chair in his role as deputy mayor.

Parker congratulated the Brandon AAA U18 Wheat Kings for winning the Western regionals and wished them luck on behalf of council as they head to Membertou, N.S., to compete in the national Telus Cup tournament later this month.

At the end of the meeting, Luebke gave notice that he intends to bring forward a motion at an upcoming meeting granting permission for him to attend the Association of Manitoba Municipalities’ fall convention to investigate image enforcement for traffic.

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