Mosquito Monitoring
Mosquito monitoring is undertaken by local experts who volunteer their time to improve the quality of life for our community. You can help with this monitoring by reporting bites. The more information we receive, the more we can create an accurate picture which in turn helps with targeting dredging works to minimise the mosquito menace. You can report bites here using our online form, alternatively you can also report bites via the Neston Life Android App and Neston Life Apple App.
Mosquito Control
Whilst it is not possible to eradicate mosquitoes, Neston Town Council is committed to controlling the numbers in an environmentally responsible way.
The Town Council works with partners to implement a co-ordinated plan for mosquito control based on the concept of Open Marsh Water Management. Pool creation and ditching works, all of which are approved in advance by Natural England, are carried out as part of an ongoing and targeted programme, the effects of which are monitored and in turn inform future management.
Mosquito Forecast
Mosquito monitoring is undertaken by local experts who volunteer their time to improve the quality of life for our community. You can help with this monitoring by reporting bites. The more information we receive, the more we can create an accurate picture which in turn helps with targeting dredging works to minimise the mosquito menace. You can report bites here using our online form, alternatively you can also report bites via the Neston Life Android App and Neston Life Apple App.
The current forecast is GREEN
Forecasting the mosquito nuisance for the coming week is tricky and much will depend upon the weather over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Out on the marshes, the good news is that some of the mosquito breeding pools have dried up or about to do so, killing many tens of thousands of mosquitoes in their immature stages. However the bad news is that the remaining breeding pools are teeming with pupae (the stage before the adults emerge) and mature larvae. There are potentially lots of adults yet to emerge in the next few days unless the weather dries up the pools before then. Furthermore, disturbing the grass around these pools or the reeds growing in them results in a cloud of adult mosquitoes that have already emerged and which are sheltering in the vegetation. However none were in biting mode when I was amongst them: they have to mate first before the females develop their blood-seeking (biting) behaviour and this may take time. They will move off the marsh and we know they can travel 10 km or so. We suspect this is largely by being borne on the wind (we are going to research this). In the coming days the winds are forecast to often be easterly, which would obviously be best for Neston and Parkgate, but there are some spells when they are westerly.
This week, the trap near the Harp caught lots of adults, whereas those about 1 km inland had far fewer (the reverse of the usual results). I suspect this is because the recently emerged adults have not yet had time or the necessary wind direction to disperse inland. However it is notable that trapping this week and previous ones has also caught unusually large numbers of Anopheles claviger, a species of mosquito that can breed on the marshes, and indeed does in small numbers, but more typically breeds in natural and man-made freshwater collections.
I hope the mosquito biting nuisance in the coming week will remain low but with the appropriate weather conditions they may start to cause a nuisance.
:
Keys to traffic lights forecast
Red:
Serious risk. Many Neston residents are likely to be bitten, especially but not only in the evenings. Precautionary methods as outlined in the FAQs should be used when gardening or enjoying barbecues.
Amber:
Medium risk. Some Neston residents may be bitten, especially on still warm evenings.
Green:
Low risk. Neston residents are unlikely to be bitten.
Feedback on Mosquitoes and the Mosquito Monitoring Programme
Send us feedback on our monitoring reports by emailing us at: mosquitoes@neston.org.uk
Further Reading
A report by Dr. Peter Enevoldson on mosquito monitoring during 2023 is available to download: Mosquito Monitoring 2023.
A copy of the study by Michael Clarkson, Phil Jones and Sandra Hughes‐Crean entitled “Domestic mosquitoes in the Neston area of Cheshire, UK”. This single page PDF summarises the detail and conclusion of a long term study into the mosquitoes on the Dee estuary marshlands around Neston and the immediate surrounding towns and villages. This document is downloadable here.