A message from the Shire of Broome about mosquitos

Published on 10 June 2020

The Shire of Broome has received a lot of queries about mosquito fogging recently.

Currently we have no plans to fog, as we only fog when the risk to the health of community far outweighs the minimal environmental risk.

Fogging is not selective and will also kill native bees and natural predators to mosquitos, such as dragon flies.

What we are doing:

• Identifying breeding sites: mosquitos breed in standing bodies of water. Anything that can hold water for longer than three days can become a breeding site for mosquitos.
• Treating breeding sites with larvicide: this is a more effective and more selective strategy than fogging following a rain event
• Adult trapping: we are undertaking surveillance to identify the species of mosquitoes to better understand the public health risk to the community. Most mosquito varieties are not capable of spreading disease to people.  Only a few can spread disease.
• Limited supply of Rid repellent is available at the front counter. It is free, but people should be aware that it has expired. It is safe to use as per the instructions but may be less effective.

What you can do

• Clean-up: remove anything that can hold water that mosquitos breed in. It may be as small as a pot plant, pet water bowl or disused tyre. If there are sites you are concerned about, please report it to the Shire.
• Cover up: wear long, loose-fitting light-coloured clothing. Mosquitos can still bite through tight fitting clothing such as leggings
• Repel: use a DEET or picaridin based repellent.

For more information, click here.