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 AMBER
There are lots of adult mosquitoes around at present, as is evident to anyone working in their garden when the weather is calm. The numbers caught in our traps are higher than in any other week so far this year, but still far fewer than in the last two years. The activity of these mosquitoes (and so the biting nuisance they cause) will depend greatly on the weather: if it is warm and calm that nuisance could be significant.
Out on the marshes, the rainfall in the last week has been insufficient to increase the water levels in the breeding pools and no new larvae are apparent in those pools that are surveyed each week. Let’s hope that this is the case elsewhere on the marshes! Most of the mature larvae and pupae have gone, presumably because they have progressed to adults. There remain some immature larvae, probably two weeks old or so; these may progress and emerge as adults in mid-to late November if the weather is fine.
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 2024 is available to download: Mosquito Monitoring 2024.
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.