The annual mozzie menace is back with a vengence as the stinging insects start biting their way across the kingdom, nesting whereever pools of still water remain from recent stormy weather.
An urgent call to tackle what was described as an ‘abnormal spread’ of mosquitoes was unanimously approved by the Northern Municipal Council yesterday.
It has been formally referred to Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak urging for immediate action by the relevant authorities.
The proposal has been tabled by four councillors led by Abdulla Ashoor.
Mr Ashoor warned that complaints from residents had risen sharply in recent weeks, particularly during evening hours when mosquito activity peaks. “We’re witnessing a noticeable and troubling increase in mosquito proliferation in several residential areas, and this requires swift, practical intervention before it turns into a wider public health concern,” Mr Ashoor said.
He highlighted that the hotline designated to receive mosquito complaints currently stops taking calls at 3pm, despite the fact that most reports come after sunset.
“Residents are unable to report cases when the problem is actually happening. This gap must be addressed urgently,” he stressed.
The proposal’s memorandum called for immediate field measures, including draining stagnant water, intensifying spraying campaigns on roads and across agricultural zones, removing waste from collection points and increasing the number of field teams to widen coverage across affected areas.
Seconding the urgency of the matter, councillor Bassem Abu Idrees said the issue had moved beyond isolated complaints and now appeared to be a growing, widespread nuisance.
“This is no longer a seasonal inconvenience,” he said. The scale of complaints indicates a systemic issue linked to water clusters, waste accumulation and insufficient reporting channels.”
He added that extending hotline hours or introducing 24-hour communication channels would allow authorities to respond more effectively to real-time reports from residents.
The council’s financial, administrative and legislative committee chairman Dr Salman Abdulla underlined the importance of structured intervention and inter-agency co-ordination.
“The solution is not only spraying,” he said. “It requires organised drainage, environmental monitoring, waste management and logistical support for inspection teams.”
Dr Abdulla noted that preventative measures would be more cost-effective than reactive responses should the situation escalate further.
The council’s technical committee chairman Jassim Hajres pointed to environmental factors contributing to the problem, particularly water accumulation in open areas following drainage works and irrigation in agricultural zones.
“These locations are turning into ideal breeding grounds. Without continuous follow-up after drainage and irrigation activities, the problem will persist regardless of spraying efforts,” he warned.
The councillors collectively called for:
* Elimination of stagnant water pools
* Intensive and repeated spraying in affected zones
* Immediate waste removal from collection sites
* Extension of hotline hours or alternative 24-hour reporting channels
* Deployment of additional field inspection and response teams
Councillors stressed that the matter was both environmental and public health-related, requiring swift executive coordination before the situation worsens with rising temperatures. “We are asking for preventive action now, not after the problem becomes harder and more costly to control,” they said.
Female mosquitoes bite humans to obtain protein and iron from blood, which is necessary for developing their eggs. Only female mosquitoes bite; they are attracted to the carbon dioxide, body heat, and odours, like sweat, that humans emit. The itchy, red bump occurs because the mosquito injects saliva to prevent blood clotting while feeding.
Mosquitoes are not all bad, however, according to experts. They are an important source of food for many fish and beetles as both larvae and adults and many are very important pollinators to smaller flowering plants.
n For any reports or complaints regarding mosquito infestations, people can call the hotline 80008100 for further information. Additionally, they can also be sent through the national suggestions and complaints system, Tawasul.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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