Saltmarsh mosquitoes thriving thanks to weekend high tide
Mosquitoes.
Just hearing or seeing the word causes some people to start scratching.
Ranging in size from a comma to a quarter, mosquitoes dominate the local landscape this time of year.
And after a particularly high tide this past weekend, saltmarsh species — those species that don't transmit Zika —are thriving along the coast. Add those (there are 48 species in Lee County) to the already-abundant freshwater varieties and you get a recipe for itchy, red, bumpy skin – and even diseases.
"Our saltmarsh season, we would expect to be winding down by now but they’re still going strong," said Patrick Linn, executive director of Collier County Mosquito Control. "They get in the winds and blow up our way and we still have considerable numbers of them and we’ve been treating them pretty steadily since springtime, really."
Freshwater mosquitoes have been problematic much of the year, since record rains in the dry season flooded most of the Sunshine State.
But saltwater varieties have blanketed Marco Island and other coastal areas in Southwest Florida in recent days.
"Marco has been pretty stead this year," Linn said. "A couple of years ago we had virtually no mosquitoes on Marco, but this year they’re here."
These are the mixed martial artists of the mosquito world, aggressive species powerful enough to fly in the wind and even under your eyelids.
"The saltmarsh (species) are very aggressive, whereas the ones that carry Zika, we call them sippers," said Shelly Redovan, with Lee County Mosquito Control. "(Freshwater mosquitoes) will come back to hit the same person three times for a full meal, or they’ll bite three different people. But the saltmarsh (mosquitoes) lock onto you, and they’re aggressive and they take their whole meal at once."
Only freshwater mosquitoes can transmit the Zika virus, but health officials fear it has taken root in Miami.
No cases are known to have happened in Southwest Florida.
Both districts are monitoring and treating areas regularly, as well as talking with other districts and health officials about the potential for spreading disease.
"We have inspectors in coastal areas checking to see if they can find any larvae from that," Redovan said. "We had heavy, early rains in the winter and had a lot of mosquitoes then. But it has been fairly light until recently. We’re spraying right now for rainfall mosquitoes at areas all over the county, (and) this may be due to tidal activity and a little bit of rain."
Southwest Florida mosquito control prepping for Zika
Experts say an acre of land here can contain 1 million or more mosquitoes, so the odds are stacked in their favor.
They bite for a reason: female mosquitoes pierce mammal flesh with their hypodermic needle-like proboscis and draw in blood, which provides them with enough protein to develop eggs.
So that "sting" you suffered last week while mowing the yard could be the biological base for the next generation. The blood you lost could have been enough to produce 200 larvae.
And so it begins – again.
Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Facebook.
By the numbers
Mosquitoes
14: days larvae can live in water
300: Eggs can be laid by a female every three days
48: Hours is long enough to hatch the eggs of most species
4: Days is the shortest known lifespan of a species
100: Million years ago is when mosquitoes are thought to have first emerge in North America
500: Percent increase in activity during a full moon
Source: American Mosquito Control Association
