Mosquitos Gold Coast: Council to take action after insect plague hits city

Torrential rains and high tides have triggered a new mosquito threat to the Gold Coast which city leaders say “will only get worse” in the next two weeks.

TORRENTIAL rains and high tides have triggered a new mosquito threat to the city, prompting authorities to order urgent spraying across the Gold Coast.

The fogging and spraying will start in the northern corridor early today as Gold Coast City Council warns there will be more mozzie infestations this week.

Division 4 councillor Kristyn Boulton said council officers had been working around the clock at the weekend to identify worst-affected suburbs.

These include Coombabah, Helensvale, Paradise Point and others north of the city.

“We have to start all over again with our spraying schedule,” she said.

“We have large areas of freshwater across the city after the recent sustained, heavy rainfall, which only cleared early on Friday.”

Last week, the city had also experienced high tides which had resulted in an inundation of mozzies in saltmarsh areas.

Residents are urged to report any large populations of adult mosquitoes to Council’s Pest Management Officers, especially in standing water around waterways and parks.

“This, in conjunction with warm, humid weather will result in a further increase in the next seven to 10 days of mosquitoes across many suburbs, particularly in the northern divisions,” she warned.

“I suspect things will get worse in the next two weeks but they should improve as our treatments start to take effect.

“Unfortunately, the mozzies seem to be bigger than ever before and I experienced this when our family were swarmed by mosquitoes at Coombabah on Saturday and we had to retreat,” she said.

Division Four councillor Kristyn Boulton.

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Paradise Point residents reported huge numbers of mozzies at the weekend and Arlene Lee, of Milton Ave, said she had never seen anything like it.

“As soon as I step outside my apartment, there are scores of them buzzing around,” she said.

“I couldn’t even shake them off when I went walking along the Broadwater. There are so many of them and they seem bigger after all the rain.”

Mitchell Hermann, of Muscovey Ave, said he too was taken aback by the infestation.

“Our garden is infested with them – even after we’ve emptied water from all our pots and containers outside,” he said. “They’re really terrible after the heavy rains.”

A council spokesman said pest management teams had been operating an intensified control program involving aerial, ground and fogging treatments to reduce adult mozzie numbers and prevent further breeding.

“Unfortunately, the rainfall over the last week has hampered our ability to complete these programs effectively,” he said.

Teams had been busy rescheduling to get treatments completed in worst-affected areas as quickly as possible.

“Ground and fogging treatments will start on Monday and will focus initially around the Coombabah and Helensvale areas,” he said.

“These will progress north to Jacobs Well and south to Mermaid Waters as the week progresses.”

Recent trapping had confirmed that 60-70 per cent of mosquitoes affecting the city were freshwater breeding species.

“It’s therefore extremely important for residents to remove any breeding sites in and around their homes,” the spokesman said.

“Residents are also encouraged to use personal insect repellent, mosquito coils and cover up with light coloured clothes when outside to avoid being bitten, especially in the evenings.”

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