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Letter to the editor

Help stop mosquito baby boom

We've had some rain, so the blood-suckers are breeding. Get rid of any standing water.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published June 26, 2007

Have you been bitten by a mosquito this summer?

As a dry spring becomes a wet summer, Pinellas County Mosquito Control expects to receive more and more complaints as mosquitoes breed.

To head that off as much as possible, Mosquito Control officials have begun to spray for the insects by truck and by air, but they say residents can help reduce the problem by getting rid of standing water.

The county's efforts extend from St. Petersburg north through East Lake - though Mosquito Control says the county has asked that environmentally sensitive areas such as the Brooker Creek Preserve not be sprayed.

"They don't want us to treat unless we have to, " said Nancy Iannotti, program manager of Pinellas County Mosquito Control. "We treat mainly along the perimeter of Brooker Creek Preserve. We use insect growth regulators so they don't mature, or naturally occurring bacteria that the mosquitoes eat that kills them."

The county does send fogging trucks into affected areas, but that's a short-term measure that's effective for only a few days.

"It's easier to go into parks, " Iannotti said. "It's much harder to go into people's back yards" and look for risks.

As mosquitoes do return this year, officials expect to see fewer cases of West Nile virus. Instances of that mosquito-borne disease seem to have headed west, with the federal Centers for Disease Control getting reports of human cases in Iowa, Mississippi and South Dakota.

But, at the request of the Florida Medical Entomology Lab, local officials are watching for a potential emerging threat for the Tampa Bay area: Chikungunya fever, a viral disease transmitted to people by infected mosquitoes.

First isolated in Tanzania in 1953, the fever circulates through much of Africa. It is characterized by fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, rash and muscle and joint pain.

No deaths have been documented, and - so far - no local cases have been reported, Iannotti said.

Still, she said, outbreaks are on the rise in other parts of the world, and officials are concerned that the fever could spread as infected people travel across international borders.

The incubation period is commonly three to seven days, but can range from two to 12 days.

To date, there has been no evidence of any disease in the 56 sentinel chickens in cages distributed throughout Pinellas County.

In dry conditions, birds and mosquitoes tend to congregate in small groups around any available water source, potentially passing diseases to each other. Officials fear that when it starts to rain, the diseases could spread beyond the water hole.

"It just takes one bite to be infected, " Iannotti said.

So the agency is asking all residents to do their part to reduce the mosquito population. That means reducing standing water, changing water in containers so that it's fresh, and wearing repellent.

According to Bob Albanese, a horticulturist at the Pinellas County Extension, people with shaded yards are more likely to have a mosquito problem than those who don't.

"Under decking, where it's nice and protected, they like to hang out, " he said. "And of course we provide a lovely food for them."

Fast Facts:

To fight mosquitoes

- Empty water from old tires, flowerpots, garbage cans, recycling containers, wheelbarrows, aluminum cans, boat tarps and buckets.

- Flush birdbaths and wading pools weekly, change the water in outdoor pet dishes regularly and stock ornamental ponds with mosquito-eating fish.

- Flush ornamental bromeliads or treat with Bti, a biological larvicide available at home stores.

- Keep pools and spas chlorinated and filtered.

- Cover rain barrels with screening.

- Check for standing water under houses, near drains, under air conditioner drip areas, around septic tanks and heat pumps and in rain gutters.

- Wear mosquito repellent (products containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus) or long sleeves and pants.

[Last modified June 25, 2007, 22:32:37]