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
The good news is that there have been few adult mosquitoes caught in the traps this week. They have very largely come from freshwater sources, with just a few Aedes caspius, a marsh species which appears in summer, usually as a portent of a larger surge in the common marsh mosquito, Aedes detritus.
The bad news is that the situation on the marshes is looking ominous. Whilst some of the breeding pools have dried up, leaving thousands of dead larvae in the lowermost part part of the pool’s bottom (see photo 1), other breeding pools are teeming with advanced larvae and pupae (see photo 2), which are so concentrated as to form what looks like a cloud (see photos 3). Unless there are a few days of sunny, hot and dry weather to dry up these pools, one can forecast that there will be very large numbers of mosquitoes leaving the marsh in about a week to 10 days. This has happened because, like last year, June and early July was very wet, and the rain was sufficient to refill the breeding pools.
Please report any mosquito bites in the coming days. Researchers in Liverpool are trying to study and understand the spread of the mosquitoes from the marsh and mapping the location and timing of bites may be very helpful.
Fingers and toes crossed for fine dry weather in the coming days!
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.