It’s not your imagination. Mosquitoes are really bugging Southwest Florida right now.
In some places, like rural Alva in Lee County and Collier’s Golden Gate Estates, the swarms can be almost cinematic, as humans try to dodge humming clouds of hungry insects. Even in well-maintained neighborhoods, the bugs have been making daytime raids, with mosquito control officials in both counties working to keep them at bay.
Blame it on the rain – or its absence.
The delayed arrival of the expected wet season has meant salt marsh mosquitoes are hanging around longer than usual, says Patrick Linn, executive director of the Collier County Mosquito Control District.
In this region, the mosquito control work year is generally split into two overlapping periods: a salt marsh season that usually starts with mid-spring king tides around May, which tapers off around the Fourth of July. Then comes the freshwater mosquito season, which corresponds to the rains.
Usually, that is.
In recent years, things have not gone as expected. “The new normal is abnormal,” Linn says. “We have seen, honestly, year after year, situations that are atypical (so) the best we can do is point to what are the meteorologic changes of what’s going on in the atmosphere, what’s happening in the surrounding area.”
‘A numbers game’: beating a vicious, day-biting, far-flying foe
This year, salt marsh mosquitoes are still hanging – or buzzing – around much later than they normally would, says Jenifer McBride, communications director for the Lee County Mosquito Control District.
When it’s dry, as it still is now, salt marsh mosquitoes lay eggs in moist soil during dry periods. Then, once the rains begin, those eggs start hatching, creating a control challenge, especially in near-coast areas, McBride says. “It becomes a numbers game of staying on top of them (and) it’s harder to reach all the spots and treat the larvae before they become the biting adults.”
And those biting adults are formidable, she says. “They are vicious. They bite during the day. They’re the reason that Lee County would be nearly impossible to live in if we didn’t have mosquito control. When you hear reports of old Florida, those are the mosquitoes that basically suffocated cattle.”
Because they breed in large, remote habitats such as the Ten Thousand Islands, Rookery Bay, and the Everglades, it’s often impossible to get in to treat larvae.
Another thing about salt marsh mosquitoes: “They’re very strong flyers,” says Jon Little, spokesman for the Collier district. “They can fly 40 to 60 miles on the wind in search of that blood meal … which brings them into those populated areas even though the eggs are laid and develop in the mangrove beds. As soon as they emerge as flying adults, they come in very large swarms,” Little said.
Normally, summer rains would act as a check on their numbers. Once their egg-laying grounds are submerged, the higher water levels “allow the aquatic predators to get in there and consume most of the larvae before they develop,” Little says.
The good news: No dengue, Zika or chikungunya in SW Florida this year
But since that’s been slow to happen this year, they’ve persisted. And because mosquitoes don’t respect county lines, neighboring Lee County sees daytime swarms of Collier-hatched mosquitoes, as well as the county’s homegrown ones.
It could be worse, Linn points out. Aggressive as they are, salt marsh mosquitoes don’t transmit human disease like Zika, yellow fever or dengue, though they can carry heartworm to pets. Those diseases are brought by the freshwater species that only appear once the rainy season is firmly established. That hasn’t yet happened this year and neither county has identified any mosquito-borne illnesses.
Even so, McBride says, people farther from the coast, such as in central Cape Coral, may see freshwater mosquitoes. Why? They can breed in standing water – any standing water, she says, including flower pots, old tires or pet bowls. “People forget that even just a bottle cap can breed lots of mosquitoes.”
How to be mosquito-safe at home
Empty rain water that has collected in garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water is retained.
Discard old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans, broken appliances and other items that aren’t being used.
Empty and clean birdbaths and pet’s water bowls at least once or twice a week.
Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that don’t accumulate water.
Maintain swimming pools in good condition and appropriately chlorinated. Empty plastic swimming pools when not in use.
Cover skin with clothing or repellent.
Cover doors and windows with screens to keep mosquitoes out of your house.
Repair broken screening on windows, doors, porches, and patios.
If your house remains porous, consider ceiling-hung mosquito netting over beds.
Source: Collier County Mosquito Control District, Lee County Mosquito Control District, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida Department of Health, The News-Press archives
– Amy Bennett Williams is a senior reporter focused on the environment. Reach her by emailing awilliams@news-press.com
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What’s with all the buzz? Why mosquito season has been turbocharged
Reporting by Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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By Amy Bennett Williams, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
