With mosquito breeding season getting underway, the City is starting its mosquito management program across Greater Geelong.
The mosquitoes in our region are species known to carry Ross River Virus, Barmah Forest Virus and Murray Valley Encephalitis which can cause severe illness and long-term side effects.
To reduce the risk of an outbreak of mosquito-borne illness, we are re-starting aerial treatments by drone at our region's Ramsar wetlands , which are of international importance under the Ramsar Convention . This includes the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula site. Swan Bay, Lake Connewarre and Lake Victoria make up part of these wetlands. Aerial treatments by drone may also be used in other areas of Greater Geelong.
The treatments will be dispersed via an agricultural drone, allowing for more targeted application and less product usage. To be effective, our treatment regime must be done in the larval stage to prevent adult mosquitoes from emerging from water and flying into populated areas.
Aerial treatments by helicopter in wetlands were last applied nearly five years ago when our permit expired, however ground treatments around townships continued.
In April this year, the City received a seven-year permit from the Australian Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to conduct mosquito management in known breeding sites in wetlands, under the EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 .
As part of the conditions of the seven-year permit, our Ecological Monitoring Program will monitor the impacts of larvicides on the Growling Grass Frog and the wetland environment and possible impacts of drone usage on threatened bird species and migratory shorebirds in the wetlands.
Ground treatments will continue to be applied in other areas, including Corio, Connewarre, at the Geelong Botanic Gardens, Lara, Point Lonsdale, St Leonards and Wallington.
Our program only uses solid form Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) and s-Methoprene products that have been approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for mosquito control around populated areas. We don't spray or use broad based pesticides in our aerial treatment by drone program.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM
The City is the only municipality in Victoria to conduct aerial treatments of mosquitoes using drones.We're doing everything we can within the legislative requirements to minimise pest and public health risks from mosquitoes.
We know that people who contract mosquito-borne viruses can develop fever, sore joints, severe illness and long-term health consequences.
Our aerial drone treatment and ground treatment program prioritises safety and was seriously considered through a rigorous application process over five years.
Ramsar wetlands are environmentally significant, internationally protected wetlands so it was imperative that we got the process right.
Councillor Elise Wilkinson
The community also has a part to play in helping to prevent high mosquito numbers locally.Inspect your property for water that is still, such as bird baths, pet water dishes and troughs and ensure they are either emptied of water weekly or removed.
Make sure to keep roof gutters free of debris, maintain lawns and gardens to remove shelter for mosquitoes and overturn boats or remove their drain plugs.
We can protect ourselves from mosquito bites by wearing light coloured clothing, using effective repellents with DEET or Picaridin and avoiding outdoor activities at dawn and dusk where possible.
Also, if you see our mosquito management team members operating a drone or applying ground treatments, please don't approach them, for your safety and theirs.
A 2020 senate inquiry into a possible cancer cluster linked to chemicals from mosquito treatments found no evidence of a higher rate of cancer overall in any areas of the Bellarine Peninsula than elsewhere in Australia.
It also found no higher number of specific cancers - breast cancer, liver cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, brain cancers and leukaemia - than would be expected on the Bellarine.
