Mapo-gu launches summer pest control campaign targeting mosquitoes, love bugs

Seoul's Mapo-gu announced Sunday it is launching a preemptive pest control program to address the seasonal surge in nuisance insects, including mosquitoes and love bugs.

The district has been stepping up mosquito and love bug control efforts for several years, prioritizing eco-friendly methods such as water spraying over insecticide use. Last year, it also ran a mobile pest control service called "Dream Home" for families with children from vulnerable households in the district.

This year, from last December through March, the district conducted larval surveys and control operations at 268 sites — including residential complexes with fewer than 300 units, offices and mixed-use buildings under 2,000 square meters, and areas prone to resident complaints — that fall outside mandatory disinfection requirements.

Controlling mosquitoes at the larval stage effectively reduces adult populations. Eliminating a single larva is estimated to prevent roughly 500 adult mosquitoes from emerging.

Health center pest control teams visited sites directly to assess larval density and immediately applied eco-friendly biological larvicides wherever larvae were detected.

Starting this month, the district will carry out eco-friendly control operations in areas where love bug activity is expected. By mid-June, attractor traps will be installed around trees in major hotspots to reduce the insect population. During peak love bug season, professional pest control companies will be deployed to conduct operations roughly three times a week, focusing on parks, walking paths, densely populated residential areas and complaint-heavy zones.

A rapid-response pest control unit at the health center will remain on standby at all times, deploying quickly when residents file reports or complaints, as part of efforts to strengthen on-the-ground response.

"We will build a seamless pest control system — from overwintering mosquito control in winter to love bug response in summer — to minimize inconvenience for residents and create a more comfortable living environment," a Mapo-gu Health Center official said.