A complaint can also help determine the parameters for future adulticides. An example would be a new development in an area that previously did not require mosquito control. Many agencies also use numbers of complaints to determine when to adulticide established areas. In this case, the public is actually being used as a major surveillance tool. The complaint is also used in tandem with other surveillance methods.
Many agencies use the complaint as a verification of their other surveillance methods.
Along with being used as a verification, the complaint is also used to determine the effectiveness of an agency's treatment program, both larval and adult. An example would be when an agency decides to adulticide an area by either a ground fogging or an airspray. If the calls drop after treatment, you can be confident that the treatment was a success. Conversely, if the number of complaints remains stationary or increases, you can immediately evaluate the situation to determine why the treatment was ineffective, be it equipment malfunction, wrong weather conditions or improper application technique. Complaints are also used to justify or reinforce many water management projects.