Physical Source Reduction

Often the most effective tool of IMM is source reduction, or physical control. With this strategy, mosquito breeding sites are either eliminated or they are altered to make them unfavorable to mosquitoes. This can be as simple as discarding old tires or buckets. Our field technicians, using hand tools, routinely open up beaver dams and ditches to reduce the size of ponds in our wetlands.

Source reduction can reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for pesticides, making it an effective and economical means of mosquito control.