Mosquito Monitoring
Mosquito monitoring is undertaken by local experts who volunteer their time to improve the quality of life for our community. You can help with this monitoring by reporting bites. The more information we receive, the more we can create an accurate picture which in turn helps with targeting dredging works to minimise the mosquito menace. You can report bites here using our online form, alternatively you can also report bites via the Neston Life Android App and Neston Life Apple App.
Mosquito Control
Whilst it is not possible to eradicate mosquitoes, Neston Town Council is committed to controlling the numbers in an environmentally responsible way.
The Town Council works with partners to implement a co-ordinated plan for mosquito control based on the concept of Open Marsh Water Management. Pool creation and ditching works, all of which are approved in advance by Natural England, are carried out as part of an ongoing and targeted programme, the effects of which are monitored and in turn inform future management.
Mosquito Forecast
Mosquito monitoring is undertaken by local experts who volunteer their time to improve the quality of life for our community. You can help with this monitoring by reporting bites. The more information we receive, the more we can create an accurate picture which in turn helps with targeting dredging works to minimise the mosquito menace. You can report bites here using our online form, alternatively you can also report bites via the Neston Life Android App and Neston Life Apple App.
The current forecast is GREEN
.Out on the marshes, last week’s spring high tides filled the mosquito breeding pools and so triggered a hatch of dormant eggs. All breeding pools now contain multiple tiny larvae. However these will develop little over the coming months and some will die but others will survive the winter (even if the pools freeze) and develop into adults in the Spring. The mud around the edges of these pools also contain thousands of dormant eggs which can survive at least two to three years, and some of these will hatch after the spring high tides next March. So, despite the adults dying over winter, the species survives from year to year.
The traps have caught significant numbers of marsh mosquitoes in the last week, especially when the weather has been mild. Gardening has resulted in mosquito attacks and there are obviously still significant numbers of adult mosquitoes around. However the weather is forecast to turn much cooler in the coming week and this will impact mosquito activity. We know that the marsh mosquito, Aedes detritus, has an amazing ability to survive mild frosts even (it takes shelter in hedges and bushes) but it cannot be active unless the temperatures rise. Unless the weather forecasts are wrong, the mosquito biting nuisance should be low next week.
Every year there is a peak of mosquitoes in September and autumn. Combining data from our traps with those collected by Professor Clarkson since 2012, there is some evidence that the duration of this peak is being extended over the years, and last year mosquitoes were trapped even on Christmas Day! More data are required to confirm this possible trend and of course we do not know if this represents a change in the mosquitoes (which can evolve pretty quickly) or a change in the weather pattern caused by climate change.
Keys to traffic lights forecast
Red:
Serious risk. Many Neston residents are likely to be bitten, especially but not only in the evenings. Precautionary methods as outlined in the FAQs should be used when gardening or enjoying barbecues.
Amber:
Medium risk. Some Neston residents may be bitten, especially on still warm evenings.
Green:
Low risk. Neston residents are unlikely to be bitten.
Feedback on Mosquitoes and the Mosquito Monitoring Programme
Send us feedback on our monitoring reports by emailing us at: mosquitoes@nestontowncouncil.gov.uk
Further Reading
A report by Dr. Peter Enevoldson on mosquito monitoring during 2024 is available to download: Mosquito Monitoring 2024.
A copy of the study by Michael Clarkson, Phil Jones and Sandra Hughes‐Crean entitled “Domestic mosquitoes in the Neston area of Cheshire, UK”. This single page PDF summarises the detail and conclusion of a long term study into the mosquitoes on the Dee estuary marshlands around Neston and the immediate surrounding towns and villages. This document is downloadable here.