175 - Mosquito Traffic Light: Should You Stay or Should You Go – collecting data and educating the public in unconventional ways

Public education benefits a mosquito control program by telling the people who we are, what we do, and why. Finding unique ways to inform our citizens in a way that is impactful and memorable can be challenging but we believe this project will fulfill this need. Our goal is to utilize a BG Sentinel with the BG counter’s adult mosquito counting function in combination with a decommissioned traffic light and an outdoor public message board in a public parks to notify and educate citizens as well as collect data for our mosquito control operations. The BG Sentinel with BG Counter will quantify the mosquitoes caught and when that number reaches a determined threshold it will trigger the green, yellow, or red light housed in our traffic light. The traffic light is affixed to the message board that will explain what each color means, how citizens should protect themselves, and what mosquito control will do. This system creates a live mosquito exposure index that updates every 15 minutes and warns citizens in the vicinity to any risks that are possible.