The city of Plano, Texas has released 1,000 gambusia fish into the ponds of the golf course in an effort to control the mosquito population and battle West Nile virus. As a natural predator to mosquito larvae, the nonnative species is a chemical-free tool to control the pests, costing the city about 40 cents each.
The city of Plano, Texas has released 1,000 gambusia fish, also called mosquito fish, into the ponds at Pecan Hollow Golf Course to control the mosquito population and fight West Nile virus, the Dallas-Fort Worth–based NBC 5 reported.
“It’s a fairly economic way to control the mosquito population,” said environmental health manager Geoff Heinicke. “We’re going to let this fish grow and start trapping in the middle of the month to see what kind of impact it has.”
The fish cost the city about 40 cents each. As a natural predator to mosquito larvae, introducing the nonnative species is considered an effective and chemical-free tool to controlling the population, NBC 5 reported.
The department is hopeful mosquito numbers will be lower this year because of a cold winter with several freezes, Heinicke said.
Plano has introduced gambusia fish for at least the past two years. The hope is the fish will continue to breed and be an effective tool for maintaining the mosquito population for years to come, NBC 5 reported.
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