Mosquitofish program offers Salt Lake residents free way to fight mosquitoes

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District is giving out free batches of mosquitofish to help residents fight mosquitoes this summer.

Abatement Assistant Director Greg White said they are giving these fish to any residents with standing water on their property. White said these fish are only for contained water, not natural water bodies, because they are not native to the West.

Mosquitofish are small but effective

The mosquitofish is the size of a minnow, but White said one of these little fish can eat 100 mosquito larvae per day.

“Other fish like to feed on the bottom, they’ll eat algae and other stuff that’s more at the bottom of a pond or lake. These ones like to feed on the surface, which is where mosquito larvae tend to be, so they’re really good in that regard too.”

In addition to their large appetite, mosquitofish can also survive in low-oxygen water, such as ponds and horse troughs.

“It also is really good at surviving in polluted water that a lot of other fish don’t tolerate. But mosquitoes are really good at tolerating a lot of polluted water or water that has low oxygen. And so these fish are really good at a wide variety of water quality.”

According to White, programs using these fish to control mosquitoes started around the 1930s and 40s.

White said Salt Lake, South Salt Lake Valley, Davis and Weber counties all have fish programs. If you get a batch, the district will check up on the fish once or twice during the summer.

Residents can get mosquitofish by calling their local abatement district or visiting its website.

Related:

• Plan ahead: Utah State Parks filling up fast
• Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, says the Division of Wildlife Resources