Chapter Four-Page2

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The IMM Approach

Mosquito control can be divided into two areas of responsibility: individual and public. Most often it is performed following the Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM) concept (Mosquito.org, 2016)8. Integrated mosquito management is a multi-modal approach that blends the use of both chemical and non-chemical control measures. IMM is the preferred approach for governmental mosquito control programs.

IMM is based on ecological, economic and social criteria, and integrates multidisciplinary methodologies into pest management strategies that are practical along with ongoing Larval surveillance to protect public health and the environment and improve the quality of life. The control measures include source reduction, which incorporates physical control (digging ditches and ponds in the target marsh), and biological control [placing live mosquito fish (Gambusia) in the ditches and ponds to eat mosquito larvae]. Other non-chemical control methods include using invertebrate predators, parasites and diseases to control mosquito larvae. Adult mosquito biological control by means of birds, bats, dragonflies and frogs has been employed by various agencies. However, supportive data is anecdotal and there is no documented study to show that bats, purple martins, or other predators consume enough adult mosquitoes to be effective control agents.

The Perfect Approach

Modern mosquito control programs in the U.S. are multifaceted and include surveillance, source reduction, and a variety of larval and adult mosquito control strategies (EPA, 2016)10. The perfect control for mosquitoes would protect us immediately from bites and mosquito-borne diseases, and it would be simple, inexpensive, and safe for the environment. Initially, when modern pesticides were first introduced for control of public health pests in the middle of the 20th century, some thought the perfect control had been discovered. Unfortunately, despite some early successes, pesticides applied across large geographies ultimately proved to be the less-than perfect solution for long-term mosquito control.


8 http://www.mosquito.org/ accessed October 16, 2016.
10 https://www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/joint-statement-mosquito-control-united-states accessed October 16, 2016.