Educational resources Monitoring and treatment Mosquitoes Life cycle Mosquito larvae Mosquito management - products Mosquito Management Program - Frequently asked questions Mosquito Management Program - light trapping Mosquito Management Program - limitations Protecting yourself Weather factors
The mosquito management program operates to reduce mosquito levels in our community.
Mosquitos are known carriers of viruses harmful to humans. The mosquitoes in our region are species known to carry Ross River Virus, Barmah Forest Virus and Murray Valley Encephalitis.
People who contract these viruses can become ill with fever, rash and joint pain. More severe illness is possible. While most people recover quickly, others suffer longer term symptoms.
Aerial treatments by drone assist in keeping adult mosquito numbers low by killing larvae before they can become adults. This helps to reduce the risk of an outbreak of mosquito borne illness and to reduce the impact of biting mosquitos on our health, wellbeing and ability to enjoy our environment.
We monitor mosquito larvae levels in known breeding sites and apply larvicide treatments when larvae levels are high.
- Monitoring
- Light trapping
- Ground treatment
- Aerial Treatment by drone
- Community Education
A permit from the Commonwealth Government is required under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to conduct mosquito treatments on wetlands that are designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar convention. Ramsar wetlands include rare or unique wetlands and those that are important for conserving biological diversity.
The City’s previous permit expired on 31 December 2020 and was extended until the end of the April 2021 mosquito season.
Treatments were then halted while we worked through the rigorous Commonwealth Government application process. We received a permit in December 2025 to restart the mosquito management program in Ramsar wetlands.
Yes. We do not use broad based pesticides in our drone aerial treatment program.
The program only uses approved products suitable for mosquito control around populated areas.
Ground treatments were applied to a variety of locations including Corio, Connewarre, Geelong Botanic Gardens, Lara, Point Londsdale, St Leonards, and Wallington townships.
Ground treatments will continue across the region through the season to 31 May each year.
The City has been working with private and state landowners around the Ramsar wetlands to be able to begin aerial drone treatments. There is no scheduled start date for the drone treatments, as agreements with landowners must be in place before treatments can begin. On City owned land, drone treatments have already been used to effectively manage mosquito numbers.
We do not use broad based pesticides in our aerial drone treatment program.
The program only uses products that have been approved by the Australia Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for mosquito control around populated areas.
These products are Bacillus thuringiensis isralensis (Bti) and s-Methoprene.
The products are solid and are dispersed via an agricultural drone, allowing for more targeted application and less product use.
Mosquitos breed in standing or ‘stagnant’ water. The salt marsh wetlands in our coastal environment are ideal breeding sites, including the protected wetlands of Lake Connewarre and Swan Bay on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Mosquitos can also breed in freshwater wetlands, drains and easements within the municipality and in containers and other stagnant water on your property.
This year, mosquito management officers have recorded unusually high mosquito numbers in the Winter months, with numbers expected to remain high due to the strong El Nino phase predicted by the Bureau of Meterology.
Mosquito numbers are weather dependant, with many factors, including rain patterns and temperature, contributing to high numbers of adult mosquitoes. While the City is working hard to safely reduce their numbers, mosquitoes are natural part of the ecosystem, with all mosquitoes contributing to pollination; it’s not possible this year to make a significant reduction in their population.
Officers are currently monitoring larval numbers across Greater Geelong and will be continually assessing and reviewing potential breeding sites over the coming months. This includes applying ground control treatments to drains, dams and easements where it is safe to do so.
We apply ground treatments (in non-Ramsar listed wetlands) at a variety of sites on across the region from August through to May each year.
View common mosquito breeding sites around townships within our municipality
Mosquito numbers and locations vary from season to season and within a season due to weather patterns. Historically, the highest numbers of mosquitoes are trapped in localities closest to Reedy Lake, Lake Connewarre and Swan Bay.
It’s important that community members work with the City to protect themselves and their homes appropriately.
No, we do not ‘fog’ or spray adult mosquitoes, nor have we done so since 2010. Fogging is not specific to mosquitoes; it affects other insects and does not remove mosquitoes at their source in the Ramsar wetlands.
Generally, mosquito larvae numbers are low during the winter months and monitoring and treatment during this period is minimal.
To be effective, our treatment regime must be done in the larval stage to prevent adult mosquitoes from emerging from water and flying into populated areas.
Officers are monitoring mosquito larvae in known breeding sites and applying larvicide treatments when levels are high.
It is important that community members work with the City to protect themselves and their homes appropriately.
To prevent high mosquito numbers in your local community, there are steps you can take to stop mosquitoes breeding on your property:
- Inspect your property for water that is still. This includes horse water troughs, bird baths, pet water dishes, old tyres, buckets, tins, rubbish bins, and pot plants.
- Ensure containers are either emptied of water weekly or removed.
- Use sand to absorb excess water in pot plants.
- Maintain any swimming pools and empty them when not in use.
- Make sure fishponds are stocked with fish.
- Overturn boats and dinghies or remove drain plug.
- Cover openings and inlets to water tanks, wells etc with screens or gauze (minimum 1mm mesh).
- Keep roof gutters repaired and free of debris.
- Maintain lawns and gardens to remove shelter for mosquitoes.
- Mend leaking taps.
Avoid being bitten by:
- Wear long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing. Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colours.
- Avoid outdoor activities at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active but note that some mosquitoes in coastal areas also bite during the day.
- Use an effective repellent on exposed skin.
- Repellents containing the active ingredient ‘DEET’ or Picaridin are most effective against mosquitoes.
- Take care when applying repellents and always read the product label before use.
Buruli ulcer, also known as the Bairnsdale ulcer, is a skin disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans.
The disease is not transmissible from person to person, however there is evidence that both mosquitoes and possums play a role in disease transmission in Victoria.
High mosquito numbers can affect outdoor dining, tourism activity and community events.
The City’s treatment program helps reduce these impacts by targeting larvae before they become biting adults.
Mosquito eggs can remain dormant for up to 10 years, and wetlands are natural breeding sites. Mosquitoes are a part of the natural ecosystem, so the goal is to reduce numbers to manageable levels, not eliminate mosquitoes entirely.