The City of Vermillion Parks & Recreation Department invites residents to an open house celebrating 37 years of the City’s Mosquito Control Program. The event offers an opportunity to meet certified mosquito control staff, view program equipment, learn about the products and methods used to manage mosquito populations safely and effectively, ask questions about spraying schedules, and find out how to opt out of property spraying.
The Mosquito Control Program is focused on protecting public health by limiting mosquitoes that can transmit diseases such as West Nile virus. South Dakota remains a national hotspot for West Nile virus transmission, and in response, the City of Vermillion has implemented a proactive and aggressive mosquito control policy to reduce the risk of mosquitoborne illness in the community. In 2025, South Dakota reported 87 confirmed human cases of West Nile virus across 31 counties, including four deaths, underscoring the importance of continued prevention efforts.
Vermillion’s mosquito control strategy emphasizes preventing mosquitoes from developing, rather than broad insect spraying. Crews regularly monitor mosquito populations and treat standing water where mosquitoes breed using targeted larval controls that affect mosquito larvae but do not harm pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Adult mosquito spraying is conducted only when surveillance data indicates an elevated public health risk. When spraying is necessary, it is performed at night when mosquitoes are active and pollinators are not, using products that break down quickly in the environment.
The open house will take place on Tuesday, May 5th at the National Guard Armory, 603 Princeton Street, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
If you cannot attend and have questions about our Mosquito Control Program, email our staff at parksandrec@cityofvermillion.com or call Jim Goblirsch, Parks and Recreation Director at (605) 677-7050.
