The City of Winnipeg has revealed a team of people dedicated to eliminate standing water in an effort to stop mosquitoes. They are calling themselves the S.W.A.T. team.
S.W.A.T. stands for the “Standing Water Action Team”, and there are already a number of recruits.
“As an agent of S.W.A.T. your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to fight the mosquitoes before they hatch, by actively draining, dumping, or covering water-filled containers,” said Ken Nawolsky, superintendent of insect control.
Bernard Beaudry, a Winnipeg resident, is keeping his yard bone dry to eliminate mosquitoes, one of the things he hates most.
“It’s hard to think of anything that’s worse than mosquitoes. I mean I think that even sharks are better than mosquitoes,” said Beaudry.
With the temperatures rising, mosquitoes are starting to come out, looking for a place to lay their eggs.
When they do, they look for standing water in things like birdbaths, eaves troughs, barrels and buckets. And Beaudry is making sure he doesn’t give mosquitoes any chance to reproduce.
“If it’s got water in it, I have my trusty wet-dry vac, and I will suck it out.”
People like Beaudry will do anything to make sure mosquito numbers drop.
“I’ve even gone as far as putting Javex in little pools, anything that has water, just to make sure there are no mosquitoes.”
