Learn about saltmarsh, freshwater-breeding and container-breeding mosquitoes and how they can impact you, your family and your pets.
Mosquitoes
Brisbane City Council delivers Australia’s leading mosquito management program and remains the only Council in Australia to employ two expert entomologists. Council’s expert entomologists collaborate with researchers and other agencies to ensure we are using the best information and technology available to limit mosquito breeding in Brisbane.
Council’s mosquito management program targets two types of mosquitoes:
- saltmarsh mosquitoes (Aedes vigilax) which breed in coastal saltmarshes
- freshwater-breeding mosquitoes (Culex annulirostris) which breed in temporary ground pools.
A third type of mosquito, container-breeding mosquito (Aedes notoscriptus), can be found in Brisbane’s backyards. Control of this species requires householders to be aware of breeding sites and remove or manage them.
Council typically manage more than 20,000 hectares of saltmarsh mosquito breeding area and 2500 known freshwater mosquito-breeding sites across the city.
These sites are inspected regularly using:
- All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) teams
- utility trucks
- on foot.
The large, coastal saltmarsh mosquito breeding habitats are treated by helicopter with ground support by ATV teams.
For more information view the:
Treatments
Council’s control activities are scientifically managed, targeting specific areas where and when breeding is known to occur. The program follows industry best practice and uses products designed to kill mosquito larvae without harming people, pets and the general environment.
Council treats the saltmarsh mosquito larvae in their breeding pools before they emerge with either Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) or methoprene based products that target the larvae and are safe for people, pets and the general environment. Bti only affects larvae for the few days before they pupate while methoprene disrupts the pupation process. This means that there are usually only a few days available, after a hatch event, to successfully control the larvae with these products.
