Written By Rob Kozar, Front Range Regional Director – Colorado
Like cell phones, computers, and domestic beer, today’s adult mosquito fogging trucks bear little resemblance to their predecessors from the not too distant past. While Ultra Low Volume (ULV) fogging machines have been in use for decades the technology to collect data, map, and apply pesticides in the pursuit of controlling adult mosquito populations is as cutting-edge as never before. The utilization of such technology allows mosquito control professionals across the country to practice adult mosquito control via a “science on wheels” approach which places primacy on accuracy, efficacy, and safety as well as the capacity to generate information useful and frequently necessary for clients in addition to helping the employee performing the application.
On-Board Computers
Laptops or notebook computers are increasingly becoming standard on mosquito fogging trucks throughout the nation with mission-specific software designed by fellow mosquito control experts well-versed in the unique workings of the industry. More than a few such people have spent time in the past behind the wheel of a fogging truck themselves, often frustrated dealing with subpar or technologically inferior equipment. Their practical collective firsthand knowledge resulted in the creation of a set of tools based on real-world experience. This, in turn, allows for customization, flexibility, and reliability when responding to customer needs and requests.
Mobile Mapping
Fogging trucks in professional mosquito control fleets are also increasingly equipped with GPS enabled location technology that allows the driver to not only see where he or she is going but the capability to generate a detailed map that can be utilized for future driver use, given to a client or inquiring resident, placed on a community website, etc. Such maps are also often necessary to properly satisfy compliance with a state, county or municipality’s regulatory agency. GPS can also be used to regulate pesticide flow rate, increasing or decreasing said rate depending on the speed of the truck, thereby ensuring an even discharge throughout the application. Such satellite-guided on the ground technology was all but unthinkable even a scant five years ago. Today it is a profession-wide reality the result of which are levels of pesticide application and monitoring accuracy heretofore all but unknown.
Modern Mosquito Fogging Equipment
Of course, even the best technology is all but worthless if the fogging equipment itself is not properly working. Many mosquito control operations are in the midst of updating ULV fogging machines throughout the country, replacing older models with new ones more suited to today’s technology and standardizing the types of machines used as much as possible. Not only will this create logistical consistency throughout a company, but it also allows ease of troubleshooting should issues arise. Properly maintained by employees specifically trained for such duties, these new fleets of fogging machines will provide customers at every level with an effective, reliable, precise, and data-driven means to control adult mosquitoes for years to come.
Adopting Technology to Protect Public Health
In the past much pesticide-related data collection, notation, and application were accomplished by means of educated guesswork at best, which, for obvious reasons, is simply no longer a sustainable or even desirable approach. The industry’s eager and on-going adoption of mosquito-specific, current day technology replaces conjecture with facts, speculation with data, invaluably aiding in management decisions that should improve our industry’s standing with our customers and the public at large. This science on wheels approach provides the answers to the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions and requirements increasingly posed to and expected of mosquito control professionals across the country. The industry is active in creating many of the technologies surfacing, and national and global mosquito control teams are grateful for the new tools to support the common mission to protect public health.
VDCI is committed to public education and spreading awareness throughout the U.S. about the dangers of mosquito-borne diseases and their preventability, with the overarching goal of reducing illness and fatality statistics in 2018. Our dedicated and experienced team works tirelessly to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in all of the contracts we service. If you would like more information about any aspect of an Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM) Plan, including mosquito surveillance, disease testing, adult control, or aerial applications, please contact Vector Disease Control International (VDCI), and we will help you get started immediately.
Rob Kozar works in the Coloradao office as the Front Range Regional Director for Vector Disease Control International (VDCI). Rob graduated from the University of Illnois. He joined VDCI in 2004 and today manages dozens of separate municipal and private contracts stretching from the north part of the state to the south. He is licensed as a Qualified Supervisor by the Colorado Department of Agriculture in Public Health and is a member of various regional and national trade associations. He can be reached through the VDCI website or by calling 800.413.4445.
Since 1992, Vector Disease Control International (VDCI) has taken pride in providing municipalities, mosquito abatement districts, military bases, industrial sites, planned communities, homeowners associations, and golf courses with the tools they need to run effective integrated tick and mosquito management. We are determined to protect the public health of the communities in which we operate. Our tick and mosquito management professionals have over 100 years of combined experience in the field of public health, specifically vector disease control. We strive to provide the most effective and scientifically sound mosquito surveillance and control programs possible based on an Integrated Mosquito Management approach recommended by the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). VDCI is the only company in the country that can manage all aspects of an integrated tick and mosquito management program, from surveillance to disease testing to mosquito aerial application in emergency response situations.
Contact the professionals at 800.413.4445 for all of your integrated tick and mosquito management needs.
