Pest Control in Eden Prairie, Minnesota

From farm village to a city built around water

Eden Prairie took its name from Elizabeth Fries Ellet, an East Coast writer who visited the area and, in her travel book Summer Rambles in the West, called it the garden spot of the territory. According to the city’s own history, the town board first met in a log school house on May 11, 1858 — the same day Minnesota became a state. For the next century not much changed: the population went from 739 in 1880 to only about 2,000 in 1960.

Then the suburb arrived all at once. Flying Cloud Airport, opened in 1946, was the first sign of large-scale development; Interstate 494 and Eden Prairie Center followed in the mid-1970s; and by 2000 the population had climbed to almost 60,000. The city now reports more than 64,000 residents, nearly 25,000 households and more than 2,800 businesses. Much of that housing was built next to the water features that make the city distinctive, and those same features shape which pests Eden Prairie homeowners deal with.

The city’s lakes, creeks and wetlands page lists 19 lakes, four creek systems, more than 1,000 wetlands and ponds, 14 conservation areas and 35 parks. Its animal control pages describe 4,500 acres of open space and wetlands. (Different city pages round these counts differently, but every version describes a community where a large share of homes back onto water or wet ground.)

Purgatory Creek and why standing water is the whole mosquito story

Purgatory Creek is the waterway most Eden Prairie residents know by name. The Riley-Purgatory-Bluff Creek Watershed District says it has three headwaters — Lotus Lake in Chanhassen, Silver Lake in Shorewood and wetlands in Minnetonka. Once those branches join, the creek runs through the Purgatory Creek Recreation Area and Staring Lake before reaching the Minnesota River. The district lists it at 12 miles long with a 178-foot drop in elevation and eight connected lakes.

The name itself is a clue. The watershed district’s history notes that early settlers along the upper creek were disheartened by the swampy ground around the stream and compared it to a kind of purgatory; the name stuck, and a 2006 discussion about renaming it went nowhere. Staring Lake, the next stop downstream, is named for Jonas Staring, an Erie Canal captain who built the first frame house in Eden Prairie in 1854. The watershed district itself was formed on July 31, 1969, after about seventy residents from Eden Prairie and five neighboring communities petitioned the state the year before.

For mosquito control, that low, wet ground matters more than anything else in the city. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) points out that mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, and that even a low spot in a lawn can produce mosquitoes if water sits undisturbed for more than three days after a rain. In a city with more than a thousand wetlands and ponds, the public program handles the large sites and homeowners handle what is inside their property line.

What the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District does in Eden Prairie

MMCD was created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1958, and Hennepin County was one of its original counties. Today it covers seven metro counties — roughly 2,900 square miles and more than 3 million residents. The City of Eden Prairie’s wetlands page refers residents to MMCD for mosquito surveys, treatment and tick-borne disease education.

Most of MMCD’s work happens before mosquitoes can fly. The district treats larvae with Bti, a naturally occurring soil bacterium, and methoprene, a growth regulator. Small breeding sites are treated by hand; sites larger than three acres are treated by helicopter, which is why Eden Prairie residents near large wetlands sometimes see low-flying aircraft in spring and summer. Adult mosquito treatments supplement that larval work and are done after sampling shows populations above threshold, mainly in high-use parks and recreation areas, at public events or in response to resident annoyance reports.

What MMCD does not do is just as important. Its FAQ states that the district does not spray private property unless there is a threat of mosquito-borne disease in the area, though it may treat when numbers are extremely high and the treatment would help more than one household. A mosquito barrier treatment around a single backyard deck in Eden Prairie is a private job. MMCD also notes that not every wetland produces mosquitoes — a deep pond with only a thin band of cattails often needs no treatment at all — and it asks residents to call it first, at (651) 645-9149, to have a wetland evaluated.

A mosquito checklist for Eden Prairie yards

MMCD’s resident guide lists the backyard sources it sees most often. In a city of ponds and wooded lots, several of them apply directly:

• Low spots and tarps. Any spot or container that holds water for more than three days can produce mosquitoes. Dump, cover or regrade.
• Bird baths and landscape ponds. Refresh bird bath water at least weekly; circulate or stock decorative ponds, or use a labeled larval control product.
• Tree holes and gutters. Older trees can hold water in cavities, and clogged gutters in spring and fall hold water longer than most people expect.
• Rain barrels and old tires. Screen or cover barrels. MMCD will pick up tires without rims at no charge.
• Grass and shrubs. Adult mosquitoes rest in shade during the day. MMCD suggests keeping grass under 2 inches and cutting back overgrown shrubs.

When those steps are not enough — for example, a home that backs onto a conservation area — MMCD’s guidance is to consider a licensed professional rather than spraying risky products yourself, because many adult mosquito products can harm pollinators and fish if misapplied. That is the point where Exterminator Dispatch routes an Eden Prairie request to a company that holds the correct Minnesota license for mosquito work.

Biting gnats and ticks along the Minnesota River valley

Eden Prairie’s southern edge drops toward the Minnesota River. Three Rivers Park District describes the Minnesota River Bluffs LRT Regional Trail as a 9.2-mile aggregate trail on an old railroad route from Hopkins to Chanhassen and Chaska, with views of the forested hills of the Minnesota River Valley; the Eden Prairie section is plowed in winter from Highway 62 to Riley Lake Road.

Two pest problems come with that river and bluff country. The first is black flies, commonly called biting gnats. MMCD treats several large rivers — the Minnesota among them — with liquid Bti when sampling finds high numbers of larvae, and it notes that black flies bite during the day and are not known to transmit any disease in Minnesota. The second is ticks. MMCD monitors deer ticks and offers free tick identification, but it states plainly that it does not control them. Deer tick habitat is woods and brush, and the district’s advice for a yard is to cut back excess brush and tall grass.

Ants in Eden Prairie: carpenter ants in the woods, mound builders in the lawn

Ants are the other pest question Eden Prairie homeowners raise most. University of Minnesota Extension’s first rule for ants is identification, because where an ant nests and what it eats decide how it is controlled. Three species Extension describes fit a city of wooded bluffs, creek corridors and big lawns especially well:

• Carpenter ants. Black, or black and red, with workers from about 3/16 to 1/2 inch. They nest in moist or rotting wood, including trees and stumps, and move into buildings behind tiles, under roofing, in wall voids and in foam insulation. They do not eat wood; they chew it into sawdust to build smooth, clean galleries. Mating swarms run April through June, and occasionally emerge indoors in late winter on warm, sunny days.
• Cornfield ants. Small brown ants that make little soil craters in thin or bare patches of lawn. Extension says they rarely nest in homes.
• Field ants. Often confused with carpenter ants because of their size and color, but they are less likely to forage indoors. They can build lawn mounds up to a foot across.

Extension’s treatment guidance is consistent: the most effective control is to put insecticide into the nest and kill the queen, because only a small share of workers are outside the nest at any given time. Spraying the ants you can see has little effect. For carpenter ants, Extension adds that control usually requires a pest management professional, along with fixing the moisture problem and replacing decayed wood. Pruning branches that touch the house and clearing lumber, stumps and thick mulch away from the foundation removes easy routes and nest sites.

Wildlife calls go to the city first

Eden Prairie’s police department runs an Animal Control Unit that answers nearly 2,000 calls a year involving domestic animals, wildlife and livestock. Its officers enforce city ordinances, pick up strays, investigate bites and assist with wild animal issues; residents can reach the unit at 952-949-6200. The city’s wildlife pages also note that wild turkeys fed by residents can grow used to people and become a nuisance. Insects and mice inside a home, on the other hand, are the kind of request Exterminator Dispatch routes to a licensed company.

ZIP codes served

These three ZIP codes cover most Eden Prairie addresses. Postal boundaries do not follow city limits exactly, so give your ZIP when you call and the request will be routed to a licensed company that already works that part of southwest Hennepin County.

Verifying that an Eden Prairie exterminator is actually licensed

Minnesota uses different licenses for different kinds of work, and Eden Prairie homeowners dealing with both mosquitoes and ants may need to check two of them.

Indoor and structural work (ants, mice, cockroaches, bed bugs). The Minnesota Department of Agriculture requires anyone who applies pesticides or uses devices to control pests in, on or around structures for hire to hold a Structural Pest Control Applicator license and to work for a licensed Structural Pest Control Company. Applicators start as Journeymen and can apply to become Masters after two years. A company must employ at least one licensed Master, carry workers’ compensation and meet financial responsibility requirements, and applicators may not apply pesticides commercially until they hold a valid license. Structural licenses expire December 31.

Yard mosquito and tick work. MMCD’s resident guide points homeowners to the MDA License Lookup, with the county set to Hennepin and the license type set to Commercial Pesticide Applicator – Mosquitoes, Black Flies, and Ticks. Ask any company for its legal name and the applicator’s name and search both. Every company Exterminator Dispatch routes Eden Prairie calls to is expected to hold the license that fits the job, and callers are free to confirm it themselves.