University Taking Additional Mosquito Control Steps

Colorado State University will spray for mosquito control on satellite campuses on two separate evenings within the next week. The spraying will take place at the South Campus, where the Veterinary Teaching Hospital is located, and on the Foothills Campus on Wednesday, Aug. 27, and Monday, Sept. 1. Both evening spraying schedules are contingent upon weather, with an alternate date reserved for Tuesday, Sept. 2. The insecticide will be applied to target areas via a truck-bed fogger between 8 p.m. and midnight on both evenings.

This is the latest in a series of mosquito mitigation strategies the university has implemented since May. Previous efforts include larvicide distribution along mosquito-breeding areas, stocking university waterways such as lagoons with mosquito-eating fish and monitoring mosquito populations on all university property. The university also recently sprayed for mosquito control on the main campus.

The university has selected a recommended low-dosage insecticide, called permethrin, for this treatment. This insecticide is a man-made synthetic pyrethroid, a version of a natural insecticide derived from a type of chrysanthemum. The commercial name for the insecticide is Biomist, a 3 percent solution of the chemical in a water-based fog. It is one of the least toxic products registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for adult mosquito fogging.

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