Bullhead City officials are looking for ways to exterminate a pest problem in the area.
Mosquitoes, gnats and caddisflies have become such a big problem, the city is turning to their Pest Abatement District to fund a full-time entomologist or aquatic insect specialist.
The bugs came suddenly last year. Some say the influx of insects came when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stopped stocking trout in a hatchery on the Colorado River in 2013.
“Here recently over the past few years we’ve been noticing more mosquitos than ever before," said Toby Cotter, Bullhead City manager. "I mean you could talk to some of the old-timers here and they’d tell you that they never saw a mosquito before because of our hot, dry temperature in Bullhead City.”
Trout eat the larvae of caddisflies, but Cotter says Bullhead City needs more than just trout.
“It’s not just a ‘let’s throw a dart at a dartboard solution’ and put more trout in the river, fog the parks, and spray other pollutants in the air," Cotter said. "It’s really the fact that we need a scientist on board.”
Officials have started restocking trout, but Cotter hopes the city entomologist can work with the county to carefully study the region.
