Introduction

The Servei de Control de Mosquits (Mosquito Control Service, MCS) was created in 1983 by the Corporació Metropolitana de Barcelona, at the request of a group of local councils in the Llobregat delta in order to control the mosquito populations within their boundaries. The MCS was placed under a new governing authority, the Consell Comarcal del Baix Llobregat, on its creation in 1989.

Today, the MCS renders its services in the following districts and for the following organizations, which belong, with the exception of l'Hospitalet, to the Baix Llobregat region:

Barcelona Airport
Begues
Castelldefels
Cornellà
El Prat de Llobregat
Esplugues de Llobregat
Gavà
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
Martorell
Molins de Rei
Pallejà
Sant Andreu de la Barca
Sant Boi de Llobregat
Sant Feliu de Llobregat
Sant Joan Despí
Sant Just Desvern
Vallirana
Viladecans

The area served by the MCS comprises 24,800 hectares, of which 9,000 form a part of the delta. In this region, the character of which is determined to a large extent by the river Llobregat, industry, croplands, nature reserves and recreational areas coexist, all requiring complex and specialized mosquito control.

The activities of the MCS are based on integrated control methods, the aim of which is to ensure maximum efficiency and minimum repercussions for the environment. The concept of integrated control combines in one organization all the methods of mosquito control, including chemical control, environment modification, biological agents and educational resources.

In addition to solving mosquito problems, the Consell Comarcal is involved in providing technical and scientific support to control other environmental nuisances, such as the cemetery beetles Necrobia sp, bugs Oxycarenus lavaterae, Chironomid midges and sandflies.