BROOKINGS — Mother Nature has provided perfect conditions for mosquitoes this month. To help mitigate the mosquito population, the city of Brookings public works street division conducted citywide ground fogging Monday and Tuesday nights between 8 p.m. and midnight.

The treatment areas included bike trails and parks.

“Crews will follow up the fogging efforts later this week in hopes of mitigating the mosquito population for outdoor weekend activities, including various baseball tournaments and the Brookings Summer Arts Festival at Pioneer Park,” Public Works Director John Thompson said.

Since May, the street division has been proactively treating ponds and wet areas throughout the city with mosquito larvicide in an attempt to kill the larvae before they can become biting adult mosquitoes.

"Unfortunately, the combination of frequent rains and warm temperatures have created the ideal environment for the mosquito population to explode,” Thompson said.

“Community members can help our mosquito mitigation efforts by removing sources of standing water in their yards,” he said.

The city’s ground-fogging equipment is noisy and travels between 10 and 15 mph. The mosquito-control pickups are identified and travel with flashing amber and white lights, so people can easily recognize them, Thompson said.

Although mosquito-control insecticides pose low risks, some people may prefer to minimize or avoid exposure to these chemicals. Some common-sense steps to help reduce exposure include staying indoors during the fogging activity and closing windows and doors.

Inclement weather or winds higher than 15 mph will cause the city to suspend fogging and reschedule it for a different day.

To learn more about the city’s mosquito control efforts, visit cityofbrookings-sd.gov/MosquitoControl. More information about spraying for adult mosquitos can be found at www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol.