El Gouna Winning Battle Against Mosquitoes - (Reprint)

(This article from July 2018 is being republished by popular demand and in gratitude to Orascom for solving a problem that once plagued visitors and residents alike)

After five years of battling mosquitoes every evening in my El Gouna home, this year I noticed there were none anymore. Previously I was obsessed with closing every window and door since even netting was pénétrable. But nowadays, I have been known to leave a door or window open. This was too good to be true. What had happened? Could this good fortune last? Moreover, this coincided with the halting of the fogger cloud at dusk meant to kill mosquitoes flying in the air. What was the link between stopping the fighting of mosquitoes in the air and their sudden disappearance?

My curiosity drove me to approach Mr. Thomas Azzer Orascom VP Electromechanical and International Construction. Mr. Azzer was joined by Mr. Mark Michel, Service Quality Assurance Manager at Orascom in El Gouna. 

Mr. Azzer explained that pesticide fog was not effective, since the airborne mosquitoes would fly away from the zone being fogged and return once the danger had passed. Moreover, the pesticide was noxious to humans and wildlife (such as nesting birds and their offspring). 

A project was initiated in early 2017 to look for alternatives. Contacts in the Ministry of Agriculture were consulted and internet searches were launched, yielding papers on the subject matter.   The female mosquito lays her eggs in any puddle of water, however little. From these puddles hundreds of mosquitoes hatch.  It became apparent that fighting mosquitoes must be done at their egg and larva stages and not once they are airborne, for then it is too late.  Preventing the egg from producing a larva would be critical. 

By trial and error, a compound was found that, once placed in the water, would not allow the eggs to hatch. This compound existed already and was sanctioned in Egypt by the Ministry of Agriculture as an organic pesticide against earth worms and pests and approved by the Ministry of Health .  A year long trial was then conducted. Compound concentrations were varied and placed in different controlled sections of El Gouna and feedback solicited. This experiment was repeated in different months of the year to gauge effect of seasonality on the results.  Finally, after much trial and error, a satisfactory concentration of compound was arrived at. 

El Gouna has two water networks, one drinking water pipe network to feed all taps, bathrooms and kitchens and an irrigation water network, made of recycled treated waste water, that feeds garden hose outlets. This unique infrastructure allowed El Gouna to implement a novel solution, not feasible elsewhere in the world. 

Today, the aforementioned compound is mixed into the El Gouna irrigation water at the treatment centers. Concentrations of the compound may vary between summer and winter. Care is taken to not create an oily result that can harm plants. 

Furthermore a new machine to fight airborne mosquitoes was purchased. It does not use the fog cloud method but a directed spray nozzle instead. Orascom are using it sparingly where concentrations of mosquitoes are found and away from residential areas. 

Initial results are very positive. This does not mean mosquitoes have been eradicated, but definitely they have been curtailed. Moreover, sometimes while sitting outside it may feel like mosquitoes are still there biting. This is attributed to sand fleas, which are tiny creatures that may sting and also cause itching. They live in areas with trees and mangroves but only appear on very still days, when there is no wind. 

Thanks to El Gouna Management for going to the trouble to rid us of these pesky little critters. 

Mourad Rouchdy
for Gouna News

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