Lot 5646 Town of Darwin: mosquito breeding in the upper tidal reaches of Ludmilla Creek

Abstract

The upper tidal reaches of the various arms of Ludmilla Creek in Darwin have been historical breeding sites for pest and disease carrying mosquitoes. Most of the historical mosquito breeding in the Ludmilla Creek catchment was a direct result of urban development and associated stormwater discharge. The major mosquito breeding sites associated with Ludmilla Creek were targeted in 1984 under the combined Northern Territory Government and Darwin City Council mosquito engineering program. Mosquito breeding areas were identified by Medical Entomology (ME), with construction supervised by Darwin City Council (DCC). This included constructing drains in the Coconut Grove, Fannie Bay and East Point areas of Ludmilla Creek from suburban areas to the central section of the creek. The construction of the drains removed the dry season ponding and associated mosquito breeding, although the northern salt marsh mosquito Aedes vigilax does still breed in some tidally affected drains and the Kulaluk rice field during the late dry season/early wet season.