Residents encouraged to protect themselves from West Nile virus
By MEGHAN BRADBURY
With an increased transmission of the West Nile virus to humans reported, residents are encouraged to protect themselves from mosquitoes.
The Florida Department of Health in Lee County advised residents earlier this month of an increase in mosquito- borne disease activity in areas of Lee County, one of which is Lehigh Acres. This was detected through several sentinel chicken flocks which tested positive for the virus infection.
The advisory stated that “the risk of transmission to humans has increased.”
Lee County Mosquito Control spokesperson Eric Jackson said the advisory reminds people that this is the time of year that West Nile and other viruses are more prevalent as waters have a chance to build up.
“This is when they are most active,” he said of the insects, adding that now through September are peak months for the West Nile virus.
Jackson said they have sentinel chickens, and birds, located throughout the county from which they take blood samples to see if they are carrying any diseases.
“We are seeing more and more birds that are testing positive for antibodies,” he said.
Jackson encourages everyone to wear bug repellents and long, loose fitting clothing when out at night to prevent the bites from happening.
To help battle the mosquitoes biologist Durrell Hagood said the district is putting more of an emphasis on the aerial larval sitting program. Lehigh residents can expect to see more helicopter actively treating the wet areas where larvae are likely present.
“If you see a helicopter flying low spraying, or a drone flying around in your neighborhood, chances are it is us and it is nothing to be really concerned about,” Hagood said. “You will probably see a lot more of that activity here in the next few months.”
Those with questions are welcome to call the Lee County Mosquito Control District at (239) 694-2174.
The advisory also touched upon draining and covering such things as garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots, or other containers where water can collect. In addition, plastic swimming pools should be drained when not in use and swimming pools should be in good condition and appropriately chlorinated.
As far as repellent, individuals should look for ones that have DEET, picardin, oil of lemon eucalyputs, para-menthane-diol or IR3535. Children under 2 months old should be protected with mosquito netting.
Jackson said this is the time of the year when the areas of abundant mosquitoes shifts and is concentrated in the eastern part of Lee County, which includes Lehigh Acres.
“We get phone calls when mosquitoes are worse than normal. We log all of those requests for service and keep track of that,” he said. “We have crews out there all the time getting landing rates, determining where adult mosquitoes are and seeing where mosquito larvae (is located.)”
The big emergence of mosquitoes takes place in the salt marshes in late May into June with high tides. As the seasonal rains pour over the region and continues to saturate the grounds it creates standing water in the eastern section of the county where the abundance transfers. Although the mosquitoes are not as heavy in January as in June or July, last December Jackson said they had planes in the air treating for mosquitoes.
“It all depends on the weather. It’s something we are dealing with year round,” he said.
Although there are 48 different species of mosquitoes in Lee County, not all of them are cause for concern. It is 10 of those species that are a major problem.
Hagood said they monitor the whole cross section of the different species and focus on the real aggressive bitters, or the ones that are capable of spreading diseases like the West Nile virus.
“There are only a handful that are capable of spreading diseases. We focus our efforts on those,” he explained.
The mosquito control operations are divided into two categories — the larvae breeding sites and adult mosquitoes.
Hagood said mosquito larvae are treated in the water before they hatch, and the adults are treated in a handful of ways — through ditch trucks, helicopters, six wing airplanes, drones and even boats that can reach various islands.
“We have inspectors out there with ditch trucks and they have spray tanks, so they can spray the ditches and treat the fields for larvae that is still in the water,” Hagood said, adding that if they cannot get to an area with the trucks, they have a fleet of helicopters they can use, or a drone crew.
The drone treatments are relatively new over the last two to three months. Hagood said they have probably treated 30 locations within the last month to month and a half with a drone, with the first treatment being done at the Lehigh Acres Golf Club.
“The drone gives us capabilities that we never had in the past. We can get into the areas where a lot of mosquitoes are coming out affecting subdivisions,” he said.
Hagood said every day they have several different mechanisms that they look over to get an idea of the mosquito activity.
For instance at night, trucks that have nets on its roof will patrol areas, which will help determine what types of mosquitoes are in the area and how many. There are also traps set out, which are collected every morning to review data, again of mosquito species and how many are in the trap. There are also aerial inspectors flying around the county looking for flooded areas, again in search of larvae.
Hagood said they have two dedicated larval site inspectors in Lehigh responding to the data collected by driving around in spray trucks through the neighborhoods, focusing on larvae in retention ponds and ditches. When the inspectors locate the larvae they will treat the area, so the mosquitoes do not hatch.
“If we find an area really breeding heavy, (I will send) five or six of my guys and move them all into the Lehigh area until we get it under control,” Hagood said. “All the information gathered in the field goes into the computer to see what the activity levels are and what the results are of our treatments.”
With all of the data collected, the district has quite a bit of research taking place with cutting-edge technology. It is important to do the research while making sure their materials are functioning they way they should, Hagood said.
Mosquitoes do well in Southwest Florida because of warm temperatures, water and flat topography.
“We have mosquitoes that are year round,” Jackson said. “They are heavier in the spring and into the summer and fall. When you look at the topography of the area there are lots of places for water to sit. In the eastern part of the county it just sits there. Stagnant water is a perfect place for mosquitoes to grow.”
Jackson said they are the largest single county district in the entire country.
“In this part of the United States we have the capability of growing more mosquitoes than anywhere else (because it’s) wet, warm and flat,” he said.
The Lee County Mosquito Control District provides daily updates on Facebook and Twitter, as well as its website, www.lcmcd.com, as to sites they are treating, including a map.