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Mosquito Control Tackling A Biting Problem
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Published: July 13, 2008
The high-pitched drone of mosquito trucks is becoming a constant for Pasco County residents as heavy rainfall has the Pasco Mosquito Control District hard at work eradicating the insects.
Traditionally, the mosquito season begins about the second week in June and doesn't stop until about the end of October, said Dennis Moore, the district's director.
"It's a combination of rainfall and temperature. If it's much below 50 degrees, they just don't have the energy in their muscles to fly."
Mosquitoes thrive on standing water to breed, Moore said. All mosquitoes have four stages of development - egg, larva, pupa and adult - and spend their larval and pupal stages in water.
The district conducts two types of attacks on mosquitoes: larviciding, in which the district goes after the immature aquatic stage of the mosquito, and adulticiding, when they address the adult stages.
Larvaciding is done via helicopters, which spread a granular bacterial product on the standing water. The mosquito ingests that bacillus bacteria, and it goes after the stomach lining of the mosquito.
"The cells burst," Moore said. "It the bacteria is very specific to mosquito larvae. We could eat it; other insects could eat it."
Mosquito-borne viruses are widespread this year, and Pasco County Health Department officials are reminding residents to take precautions against mosquito bites.
The department is working with the mosquito control district, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and area medical providers to monitor for the presence of illnesses carried by mosquitoes, a statement said.
In 30 counties, equine encephalitis has been detected in horses, wild birds or sentinel chickens that health authorities put in mosquito-prone areas to see whether the virus is present.
Male mosquitoes do not bite; their main purpose in life is to fertilize, Moore said. Males, once they mate, live two to five days or less. Once fertilized, the females look for a blood meal - they need extra protein for egg development, Moore said. And they can get that from humans and pets.
There are 45 species of mosquitos in Pasco County. Some of those are daytime feeders, but most are nocturnal. Dusk is the witching hour for mosquitoes.
"Some within that one-hour period around dusk are really bad," Moore said.
So residents will hear those Pasco mosquito trucks roaming their neighborhoods spraying pesticide as the sky darkens.
The district's planes went out five times in April, but haven't been out in the past few weeks.
"But the night trucks are out more frequently," Moore said. The mosquito district also has a fleet of some 30 trucks to help find and spray areas where mosquitoes thrive.
Employees go to a seven-day workweek at this time of year to collect traps, monitor the mosquitoes and eliminate them. A day staff works from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Moore said, and another crew works from sunset to 1 a.m. or so. "That goes on during the weekends, too," he said. "The mosquitoes don't take a break."
The district bases its control measures on trap counts. "We can have a quiet period in July, August or September," Moore said.
Right now, there is more standing water in Pasco.
"A few weeks ago, the rain disappeared quickly into the aquifer," Moore said. "The more it rains, the more pastures will be flooded and the more mosquitoes we'll see."
The health department, as well as the mosquito district, reminds residents to remove standing water from their properties. A cup left out in the rain can become a breeding ground. Residents are asked to replace water in birdbaths and pet dishes at least once a week.
"As you enjoy summer activities take basic precautions to help limit your exposure to mosquitoes," health department director David Johnson said in a statement. "Following a few simple steps can decrease your chances of getting a mosquito-borne illness."
For information about the Pasco County Mosquito Control District or to report a problem, call (727) 376-4568, 1-888-202-1571 or go to www.pascomosquito.org/.
The Florida Department of Health recommends that personal mosquito protection efforts include the "5 Ds" for prevention:
•Dusk and Dawn - Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active.
•Dress - Wear clothing that covers most of your skin.
•DEET - Repellents containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, or N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) are recommended to protect against mosquito exposure. Picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus are other repellent options.
•Drainage - Check around your home to rid the area of standing water where mosquitoes can lay eggs.
The Suncoast News reporter Carl Orth and Tribune reporter Mike Salinero contributed to this report. Pasco Tribune editor Mary Hitt McCoy can be reached at mmccoy@tampatrib.com or (813) 948-4232.
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