Fenton Council to Decide on Mosquito Control

It's been rainy, and Advanced Pest Management is out in force in Fenton to kill the abundance of mosquito larvae.

General Manager Charles Mullins updated city council on Fenton's annual at Monday's work session. Advanced Pest Management's cost for this year is $34,585, which council could approve at this coming Monday's meeting, at 7:30 p.m. at 301 LeRoy Street.

His firm has been applying larvacide in Fenton since March 23, Mullins said. Spraying to kill adult mosquitoes usually begins on Memorial Day and ends on Labor Day, depending on mosquito trap counts. Adulticide has a biweekly schedule, and the company responds to nuisance calls within 24 hours.

Fenton has $38,000 in the budget for mosquito control this year, which includes the cost of tablets Advanced Pest Management provides the city, said Manager Lynn Markland. Department of Public Works (DPW) employees place the tablets in catch basins, to save the cost of having Advanced Pest Management place the tablets.

Director Daniel Czarnecki, of the DPW, said employees from his department wear safety glasses and gloves while placing the tablets.

A big mosquito control issue is abandoned swimming pools, Mullins said. When homes are foreclosed on, pools are left abandoned. The pumps aren't moving the water in them, and people aren't treating them with chlorine. This causes the swimming pool to become a breeding ground for millions, if not billions, of mosquitoes, he said.

Swimming pools where people treat them with chlorine and run the pump are not a problem.

If the city identifies properties where swimming pools are abandoned, Advanced Pest Management can go in and treat the pools to prevent mosquito problems, Mullins said.

Zoning Administrator Brad Hissong said in some cases the city has notified a property owner, usually a bank, and sent a contractor out to pump abandoned swimming pools dry. The cost is then added to the property owner's taxes.

Advanced Pest Management has provided mosquito control in Fenton for 22 years, Mullins said. Residents who do not want mosquito spraying at their property can opt out of it, and those who have opted out in the past are on the mailing list so they can opt out this year, Mullins said.

The 24-hour customer access telephone number for Advanced Pest Management is (810) 735-8731.

In addition, Advanced Pest Management provides "backpack" spraying at no extra cost for residents who are holding an outdoor graduation or wedding party, for example, he said. Barrier work for foliage also is available, for $75 per residence.

Advanced Pest Management provides complimentary mosquito spraying for Fenton's annual Shiawassee River Cleanup, which will be on the fourth Saturday in June this year, said Mayor Pro Tem Cheryl King, who has organized the event for many years.