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
Due to the wintry weather, two of the local traps have caught no mosquitoes this week. However, remarkably in view of the frost the night before, one trap in Little Neston had 6 Aedes detritus (the marsh mosquito) adults, 5 of which were alive and flying around! Clearly it is possible for some to find sufficient shelter to survive the -1 deg C recorded the previous night. Nevertheless I think the mosquito biting nuisance has passed for this year.
Out on the marshes, the breeding pools are again frozen over. However, break the ice and one easily finds mosquito larvae, many of which (perhaps the majority) will survive the winter and start their development into adults in the Spring. So the cycle continues.
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.