Florida Keys Mosquito Control News
news || headlines || arhcives || search| Can Mosquitoes transmit AIDS? | ||
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Many studies have been conducted on this issue in the United States and abroad. To my knowledge, there has never been a successful transfer of the virus from an infected source to another host by bloodfeeding insects under experimental conditions. The experts have concluded that the insects are not capable of such transmission. Many biological reasons would lead one to this same conclusion, but the extensive experimental studies are the most powerful evidence for the conclusion. 1. HIV DOES NOT replicate in mosquitoes. Thus, mosquitoes cannot be a biological vector as they are for malaria, yellow fever, or dengue. In fact, mosquitoes digest the virus that causes AIDS. 2. There is no possibility of mechanical transmission (i.e., flying contaminated syringes); even though we all know that HIV can be transmitted by dirty needles. However, the amount of "blood" on a mosquitoes' mouth parts is tiny compared to what is found on a "dirty" needle. Thus, the risk is proportionally smaller. Calculations based on the mechanical transmission of anthrax and Rift Valley fever virus, both of which produce very high titers in blood, unlike HIV, showed that it would take about 10,000,000 mosquitoes that first fed on a person with AIDS and then continued feeding on a susceptible person to get 1 transmission. 3. Mosquitoes are not flying hypodermic needles. Mosquitoes regurgitate saliva into the bite wound (the normal route for disease transmission) through a separate tube from that through which it imbibes blood. |
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| News Article from The Free Press: Blood, Sex and Sugar: The entwined history of mosquitoes and mankind | ||
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Blood, sex and sugar: The entwined history of mosquitos and mankind BY ROBIN BOYLE Free Press Staff It has six legs, weighs about as much as a grape seed, and has, over the past several million years or so, killed off through disease more human beings than any other creature on earth. Luckily, warm soggy Florida has an enormous population of the beasties, which has brought hoards of eminent scientists to the state to study the 76 species and sub-species of mosquitos that call the Sunshine State home — thereby increasing man's knowledge of the mosquito, and how best to remove it from places it is not wanted. Florida has one of the largest mosquito labs in the world, the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach. "It has 24 mosquito doctors, the largest assemblage of entomologists in one spot," said Dr. Gordon Patterson. Florida is also home to the maven of mosquito knowledge — Patterson, a professor of history at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, and author of the seminal work: "The Mosquito Wars: A History of Mosquito Control in Florida (2004)." "Blood, sex and sugar, it's about all those things, and we're involved in it," Patterson said referring to the propagation of mosquitos using human blood to nourish its eggs. In order to make eggs, the female needs proteins found mostly in mammalian blood, but also blood of reptiles and amphibians. She can live up to 100 days depending on species. To live a full and rich life, she uses the sugars found in rotting fruit and nectar to bulk up between pregnancies. Male mosquitos live only on fruit, with a lifespan of 10 to 20 days, just long enough to get the job done and pass on his genes. "Not all mosquitos need human blood. Some prefer that of toads, for instance — nothing personal," Patterson said. There are about 3,500 species worldwide. Of those, about 75 species are living in Florida, and of those "maybe a dozen make mischief for you and me," Patterson said. Not every mosquito carries a disease dangerous to humans, and it is not necessary to kill every mosquito. "Good mosquito control is not a wild west policy: 'The only good mosquito is a dead mosquito.' Control means killing only those that are capable of vectoring [spreading] diseases or provide a substantial nuisance to our comfort or well being, he said." Are mosquitos good for anything? "That's a metaphysical question I get all the time. Are humans good for anything? Let's look at the record," Patterson said. Our enemy Patterson said, "There are three critical words in dealing with mosquitos: Don't get bit." The mosquito is a dangerous insect. It carries nasty, often fatal diseases, and as a pest, it's right up there on top of the list with flies, fleas, ticks, and roaches. Until pesticides were created mankind was helpless in the face of swarms of mosquitos looking for a blood meal. Outdoors, people could use netting, cover themselves in clothing or mud, bury themselves in sand, or sleep downwind from a smoky fire. Or slap. Mosquitos developed about 170 million years ago, during the Jurassic Era, probably getting their protein from dinosaurs or small mammals, and feeding off fruit and nectar. In those early days mosquitos were about three times the size they are now, but their proboscis, used to suck in nectar or blood, was three times shorter. Over time they exchanged body size for proboscis length. By the time man showed up the mosquito was ready for him. A mosquito's proboscis isn't just a simple needle. The proboscis is actually made up of two tubes, one for sucking and one for releasing a chemical that keeps blood from coagulating. It wants to keep a fresh supply of protein-rich blood flowing to its mouth. The tubes are surrounded by various serrated knives and cutters. Most people don't feel a bite until the mosquito has had its meal and flown away. Their prey can hear them coming, though. Their wings beat up to 600 times a second which accounts for that annoying whine as they close in. Mosquito borne diseases have always been rampant worldwide. Malaria, for instance, used to be much more prevalent in the Americas and northern Europe and Russia, even through cold spells. Although modern medicine and pesticides have roped in malaria, keeping it mostly a tropical disease, recent wars and social uprisings have caused malaria to shift north again. The Centers for Disease Control notes: "Each year 350-500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over one million people die, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. "This sometimes fatal disease can be prevented and cured. Bednets, insecticides, and antimalarial drugs are effective tools to fight malaria in areas where it is transmitted. Travelers to a malaria-risk area should avoid mosquito bites and take a preventive antimalarial drug." Most species of mosquito can also carry the viral diseases yellow fever, dengue fever, epidemic polyarthritis, Rift Valley fever, and the West Nile virus is emerging, first located in 1930. The good news: Mosquitos do not transmit HIV or AIDS. Learning control Florida would not be the overbuilt, overpriced, overpopulated paradise it is today without mosquito control. Diseases like West Nile virus, malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, St. Louis encephalitis and other encephalitis-type diseases affecting humans and horses, are all carried by mosquitos and all have appeared at one time or another in Florida. Dogs and cats are at risk from heartworms spread by mosquitos. The last dengue fever epidemics in Florida occurred in the Tampa and Miami areas in 1934-35, affecting an estimated 15,000 of the 135,000 population of Miami, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Thirteen imported dengue cases were reported in Florida from 1985 to 1995. In 1997 an outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis appeared in 27 north Florida counties. Canada issued warnings for travelers to steer clear of those counties. Patterson said mid-century was a bad time for mosquito borne diseases. "In Florida certainly a new group of diseases appeared. In the 1950s arbovirus eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus were identified... Those were the years pre AC and pre cable TV. We had a cultural shift in which our behavior changed. I saw that 1959-62 marker in behavior that took us indoors; made us less vulnerable to mosquitos," Patterson said. "But then, years later, we saw another cultural change. People started getting sick again statewide in 1990." The culprit was Friday night football. People went out in the dusk to the high school fields where the lights, sweat, and glob of cheering humanity meant a big meal for mosquitos and a spread of disease for fans. "Games were called off everywhere," Patterson said. The West Nile virus arrived in America in August 1999 in New York City, Patterson said. Virologists traditionally name new diseases from their point of origin, like the Hong Kong flu. In the case of West Nile it was traced to a woman who lived on the upper Nile River in the 1930s. "The virus moved through Africa and caused an outbreak in Israel, then Romania, Europe, and finally New York City. It was the Israeli strain that hit New York," Patterson said. West Nile virus can be identified by dead birds. "The virus kills the birds, mostly blue jays, black birds and ravens. Sparrows don't die. Then the mosquito that bites the bird also bites a human and you have transmission," Patterson said. "When you are bitten most people don't even notice if they get West Nile. A handful get flu-like symptoms, and one in 137 gets full blown West Nile, and that is a serious event. If the person with full blown West Nile doesn't die, in six months the patient will still not be able walk, bathe, or dress themselves." Key West connection From 1840-90 there were dozens of yellow fever outbreaks in Key West. The city's first native born physician, Dr. Joseph Yates Porter, went to medical school in the Carolinas during the Civil War, according to Patterson, who is writing a book about him. After the war he returned to Florida to fight yellow fever, a calling precipitated by the death of his father from the disease. Porter became an expert in the field, visiting Jacksonville in 1888 during a yellow fever epidemic when the mortality rate for the disease was 25-50 percent. With a population of 26,800, the 1888 epidemic killed 400, sickened 5,000, and caused 10,000 to flee the city. Of the 16,000 remaining in the city, 14,000 were left unemployed as a result of the breakdown of commerce, according to records at the Florida Entomology Laboratory at the University of Florida. At that time the connection between mosquitos and yellow fever was unknown. In the 1870s and 80s outbreaks of yellow fever in the Panhandle, Jacksonville, Tampa, Plant City and Manatee County led to thousands of illnesses and deaths. In 1889 Gov. Edward A. Perry organized a state board of health with Porter as its first State Health Officer. He was also the state's first Florida Anti-Mosquito Association president. Later, he worked with William Gorgas, famed for his work with mosquitos during the construction of the Panama Canal. Mosquito misery There was no modern-day mosquito program in the Florida Keys when Henry Flagler was building his "railroad across the sea." By 1908 trains were running from the mainland to the Knight's Key terminus on Key Vaca (Marathon had not yet been named). Two miles south of the terminus, Pigeon Key, a small island where the old buildings constructed for workers can be toured today, was home to some 400 employees building the railway and old Seven Mile Bridge. They slept in bunkhouses and tents, and literally could not go outside after dark when the mosquitos came looking for blood. A Pigeon Key tour guide said, "They wrote home to their families that they had to stay inside, otherwise enormous swarms of mosquitos would fly into their eyes, noses, ears and mouths in such numbers they couldn't breathe and felt they would choke to death." What built Florida? "I would argue that the modern development of Florida would not be possible without mosquito control. Air conditioning was just an afterthought," Patterson said. For the most part, in the early and mid-20th century only some public buildings had air conditioning. Signs on movie theaters, stores, and restaurants would advertise the fact they were artificially cooled to lure in customers. It wasn't until the 1960s that air conditioning became affordable for homes. Until then Florida houses were built specifically to catch ocean breezes and dissipate the heat with high ceilings and cross ventilation. Screen doors and windows provided some relief from the dusk to dawn mosquito marauders, and people slept with mosquito netting over their beds. After air conditioning came home, Florida developers started stacking cement blocks into small, low-ceilinged rectangular houses that would bake in the sun and hold on to the heat all night. Metal hot boxes, mobile homes became popular for retirees. Suddenly, air conditioning became a necessity, not a luxury. But, those little CBS homes and trailers also kept the mosquitos at bay behind windows shut tight. No single solution "Mosquito control essentially is an ecological beast tied to particular fauna and flora," Patterson said. "There is no single solution. In South Florida aerial adulticiding is the best solution. In central Florida it's mostly impoundments in salt marshes. There, mosquitos only lay eggs on the interface of high marsh areas. There is a prodigious amount of mosquitos on the barrier islands. It was measured once, before spraying was started — one square foot contained 10,000 mosquitos. One acre of highland can theoretically produce 141 million mosquitos. The highest count was on Sanibel where a 5-gallon bucket trapped, in a single night, 300,500 adult mosquitos looking for a blood meal. "That's why Sanibel remained uninhabited for such a long time," Patterson said. "Before pesticides Sanibel was one of the most pestiferous places on the planet. Before the 1970s only 40 people lived there." First efforts Because of its ability to carry disease, and after battling crippling outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and encephalitis in Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Miami, the state of Florida in 1922 enacted laws allowing counties to form mosquito control districts. Monroe County, a latecomer — probably because of its low population — formed the Monroe County Anti-mosquito District in 1949. According to "Marathon 1906 - 1960" by Dan Gallagher, "Marathon's Chamber of Commerce began a mosquito control program in 1948. In 1949 they purchased a surplus G.I. ambulance to be used as a spray truck. In 1952 they relinquished control of their spraying efforts, turning their equipment over to Monroe County, who continued the spraying program." In 1967 The Monroe County Mosquito Control District was formed by the Florida Legislature, and in 1999 The Monroe County Mosquito Control Board of Commissioners voted to change the name of the District to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. Fighting back today Based at the north end of the Florida Keys Marathon Airport, the district is state-of-the-art, with two helicopters — one just a week old — four airplanes, a convoy of trucks, boats, laboratories and the latest in mosquito "controlling" technology and pesticides. Controlling is the mission, not wiping out every mosquito on Earth. Why not? "Because mosquitos form a huge biomass," Patterson said. In other words, mosquitos are an important part of the food chain. Their little bodies provide meals for birds, fish, and amphibians. So the mosquito control districts in Florida kill enough mosquitos to make life bearable for humans, but not enough to remove a nourishing meal for their predators. Quick childhood The larval and pupil stages can be found in a variety of aquatic habitats with still water, including discarded fast food containers, tires, temporary puddles, garbage cans, tree and crab holes, salt marshes, and irrigation ditches. It only takes one inch of water and one week for mosquito eggs to mature. The larvae are "filter feeders" of organic particulates (small bits and pieces of organic matter). BTI, bacillus thuringensis, is consumed by mosquito larvae and kills them. The BTI pellets are dropped by aircraft into their habitat. The easiest way to kill off mosquitos is to get them before they are adults and capable of biting. The district has a two-pronged strategy using larvacides and adulticides. The adulticide is a very fine mist sprayed from the district's aircraft. For the larvae, BTI pellets are dropped by air into specific spots where they have already been identified. This takes footwork. The district employs about 75 people, who don boots and protective gear and literally hike through wetlands and other possible mosquito-rich areas, including offshore islands reached by boat, that might contain the pre-adult stages of mosquitos. Once the larvae are found the planes or helicopters are called in for pinpoint strikes. There are plenty of places they are not allowed to spray, including an Upper Keys shrimp farm and several bee hives. Large maps in the office show in minute detail where to spray on a particular day. The insecticides used by the district are among the least hazardous to humans and are sprayed in very low doses. According to the district's Web site: "Both of the adulticides (naled and permethrin) are also used in agriculture. They may be used on food crops at rates much higher than are used for mosquito control. They are also used in pet shampoos (permethrin) and flea collars (naled). Permethrin is also applied directly to livestock to control pest insects, and is the active ingredient in some human louse shampoos." Chief pilot Chief Pilot Amy Sargent, took a circuitous flight path to the Keys. Growing up in Bloomington Minn. she took an aviation elective in the 11th grade. "I wanted to be an astronaut and started flying when I was 16," Sargent said. She continued her education at the University of North Dakota, which offers aviation courses. Now, 21 years later, after a career spent as a commercial pilot and instructor, she heads up the flight arm of the mosquito district. "I never thought I'd be working for a mosquito district," she said. "But I couldn't be more proud of our crew and the district." She had been flying for Delta when 9/11 grounded nearly 12,000 pilots nationwide. Assistant Chief Pilot Rex Hopkins was a commercial pilot for American Airlines who also was furloughed because of 9/11. Pilots had a hard time finding jobs after the terrorist act shut down flights. Other commercial enterprises were wary of hiring commercial pilots because they didn't know when the re-hiring would begin. Sargent came to the Keys to visit with friends living in Key Largo, and like most of the people who discover the Keys she was delighted to find a new career path that allowed her to stay. Moving to the Keys, she also met her husband, who flys for American Airlines. The couple has one child and one on the way, Sargent is seven months pregnant and about to ground herself for a couple of months. "My husband said, and I agree, that I shouldn't be out flying alone this far along," she said. Make no mistake, flying helicopters or airplanes for a mosquito control district is a dangerous job. Flying close to the ground leaves no room for error. "My goal is to make it as safe as possible for the pilots and for the people on the ground. I stress training, especially since I was an instructor and check airman at airlines. I brought that ethic to the district with me. I know people may get tired of hearing the helicopters overhead all the time, but training is the most important thing we do." With the exception of the two helicopter pilots, all the pilots working for the district are retired or current commercial pilots. Helicopter Pilot Keith Mearns cross-trains all the pilots to fly helicopters. Sargent said, "I am so proud to work in this mosquito control district. I was proud to be airline pilot but I can honestly say I'm proud to work for Monroe County. I am very fortunate. Everybody who lives down here in the Keys is so fortunate, and that is due to the excellent mosquito control we provide. I think we forget how impossible it would be to live here if the mosquitos were not under control." The district The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has offices located in Key West on Stock Island, Marathon and Key Largo. The district asks the public to contact the office nearest them to report mosquitos. Key West: 305-292-7190 Marathon: 305-289-3705 Key Largo: 305-453-1290 Web site: www.keysmosquito.org The helicopter ride Mearns, who has trained the other pilots to fly helicopters, wakes up each working day with a smile. He says he can hardly wait to get to work. We meet at the district's office at the airport. Affable Mearns (no relation to the Marathon Mearns family) takes me out to where a Bell Long Ranger helicopter stands on a very small platform on wheels. Literally, there are only a couple of inches of platform on each side of the helicopter. There is zero room for error. Wires from a large battery charger are attached to the 'copter. I am strapped into the doorless helicopter after a lesson on how to deploy the life vest I wear around my waist in case of a "water landing." I suggest to Mearns we land in shallow water if possible. I sit quietly, getting used to the earphones, as Mearns pushes buttons, pulls levers and toggles switches. He grins and asks if I'm ready. I nod casually. I've been up in small planes, and have a whopping 45 minutes on my own pilot's log, but I've only been for a 10 minute ride in a helicopter at a state fair. Not long enough to really feel what this type of flying is like. The rotors pick up speed and we take off straight up, light as a feather. We gain some altitude and turn toward Big Pine Key. We fly over the south edge of Marathon and when we get near the high school the helicopter stops in midair. Just... stops. Hovers is the term. For someone who has only been in a fixed wing aircraft the feeling is unnerving. Mearns tells me that experienced fixed wing pilots riding in a helicopter for the first time can have a very uncomfortable moment during that first few seconds after coming to a halt. He says this with a grin. Mearns is telling me something. I can hear him clearly, there is virtually no engine sound with the earphones on. He points down at a marshy area where they keep a close eye on larvae. The helicopter remains absolutely still — as still as if it is sitting on the ground — as he explains something technical about the marsh. I smile encouragingly all the while thinking, "Helicopters can't glide. What if the engine stops?" We swirl in the air turning right and accelerate again. I ask, "What happens if the engine stops?" He reassures me that a helicopter pilot has many hours of experience practicing just for that occurrence. It seems they can manipulate the rotors for a pretty soft landing if they have to. I think, "Shallow water." Once I relax I see why Mearns spends every day with a grin on his face. The Keys, absolutely spectacular in any aircraft, is even more so in a helicopter. Much more. I look down between my feet, and there's the ground moving along at a nice clip. I look to my left and there's nothing between me and the rushing air. I stick my hand out to wave to a boat and am surprised that my arm is snatched to the back of the door. "How fast are we going," I ask. "About 120 mph," Mearns says. No more waving unless also hovering, I learn. In about 20 minutes we come in for a landing on Big Pine Key, but not before shadowing the district's other helicopter. The two pilots carefully tell each other exactly what they are doing and where they are going next even though they are a good distance apart. It is obvious safety is the issue. I look around and notice the multitude of towers with which we are all learning to live. I ask Mearns about them. "We have to be very careful of them," he says. We fly lower than airplanes so we are very aware of towers and electric poles, as well as other aircraft." I had noticed when he was flying he was looking everywhere at once. He speaks to the other pilot, warning him of a Navy helicopter that just transversed the area where we were flying. I didn't see it, but I wasn't looking. Still, I decided not to take up helicopter piloting anytime soon. We land where several trucks and vans sit on property owned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In the center of the landing strip are two rows of bags containing the BTI pellets that will be dropped into the standing water containing larvae. The other helicopter comes in for a gentle landing right between the rows of what look like 25-lb. bags of dog food. When the rotors stop a team of men run to the bags and start opening them and filling appendages on the helicopter. These are tank-like objects that hold about 600 pounds of the small pellets. Controlled by the pilot, the pellets are dumped exactly where they should be according to the map in the office containing the daily information sent in by the field inspectors on foot. I meet the pilot, Kenny Vail and inspector Mark Otto. They are both grinning, too. All the pilots, Mearns says, came from the airlines as professional commercial pilots, laid off in the days after 9/11. Mearns taught Vail and the chief pilot, Amy Sargent, how to fly helicopters. During the couple of minutes to let the helicopter engine cool down enough to restart, Vail and Otto drink plenty of chilled water. "It's easy to get dehydrated flying," Vail says. Then they pull themselves back into the helicopter and take off for another round of pellet bombing. Mearns and I also head back to Marathon, but not before swooping low around the carcass of the whale that washed back into shallow water near the Seven Mile Bridge. It's deteriorating, but not fast enough for my taste. I hope scavengers are eating their fill so at least the whale's death in July will do some good for other lives. We also swoop down over Pigeon Key where the water is so shallow we can see a multitude of rays flapping against the tide. Then it's back to the airport where I suddenly realize Mearns is going to land on that minuscule platform. It doesn't look possible from the air, but he does, gently and accurately. We sit for a moment while I catch my breath and say thank you. Mearns jumps out and ties down the helicopter, then we walk over to the hanger for a look at the other aircraft, two more helicopters and two airplanes. One is covered in sand colored camouflage paint job. "We bought it from somewhere in the Middle East," Mearns says. The district has two Bell 206L4, Long Ranger helicopters, and two Bell Jet Rangers. There are two airplanes, both Turbine Islanders. So the next time you see a camouflaged airplane flying low over your house, don't worry, you're not being invaded, it's just the mosquito crew. Ed. Note: Dave Navarro's fishing column will return nest w |
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| DDT to Combat Malaria in Africa | ||
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DDT was banned decades ago in the US in response to concerns of overuse in agriculture and its effects on humans and wildlife. While DDt was never fully outlawed, its use throughout the world has been greatly limited by the refusal of large donor agencies and development groups to purchase the insecticide. Recently, experts have declared DDT as the most effective weapon against malaria. Currently, the US and the UN World Health Organization endorses spraying with proven safety and effectiveness in several African Countries. |
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| Mosquito Misting Systems | ||
| Timed-released mosquito misting systems from homes pose a threat to mosquito control. These systems are available for purchase by citizens and installed like sprinkler systems. The misting systems spray insecticide on timers at intervals controlled by the homeowner. They spray at predetermined time intervals, without regard for surveillance, attention to weather conditions or regard for EPA application requirements. Without government control including EPA involvement, our fear is that mosquitoes will become resistant to the chemicals and endanger public health. | ||
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| The Role of Government Agencies | ||
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Death and destruction from hurricanes have recently occupied the media, but mosquito-borne diseases are among te worlds leading causes of illness and death today. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 300 million clinical cases each year are attributable to mosquito-borne illnesses. Despite great strides over the last 50 years, mosquito-borne illnesses continue to pose significant risks to parts of the population in the United States. Current challenges posed by the emergence of West Nile virus in the Western hemisphere illustrate the importance of cooperation and partnership at all levels of government to protect the public health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are working closely with each other and with other federal, state and local agencies to protect the public from mosquito-borne diseases. The CDC monitors the potential sources and outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases and provides advice and consultation on prevention and control of these diseases. EPA ensures that state and local mosquito control departments have access to effective mosquito control tools that they can use without posing unreasonable risk to human health and the environment. The Agency's rigorous pesticide review process is designed to ensure that registered mosquito abatement material is used according to the label directions. |
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| No-See-Ums | ||
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With the onset of mosquito season, we see the no-see-ums too. Many inspectors have probably been asked by citizens, what can be done? Fortunately, no-see-ums do not carry any diseases to humans. No-see-ums are a common name for Ceratopogonids also known as Biting Midges, no longer than 3mm they inflict a fierce bite. They affect tourism in many coastal communities, especially during the rainy season and salt marsh habitats are ideal for breeding. Like to lay their eggs on water or within mud and their larvae are unable to found without a microscope. The larvae and pupae live in these low oxygen environments constructing burrows in the mud. They outnumber any chemical control that could be done. For those of you with allergies to no-see-ums and the tendency to scratch and scar your skin, No-see-ums are more than a nuisance. With their sharp jaws, they can cut the skin and inflict painful bites. Raised itchy, red welts and even water-filled blisters can form Tips: Prevention Use insect repellant and turning off lights on porches, which attract them. |
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| Mosquitoes have Preferences for Hosts | ||
 As we all know by now, the female mosquitoes are the “blood suckers”, needing protein from our blood to lay eggs. What is it exactly that makes these females so crazy for us? Well, there is actually a combination of attractants that lets them know who would be the best host. As we exhale, carbon dioxide and other odors mix to produce a plume that travels through the air stream. The plume is like a dinner bell for the female mosquitoes and they follow it until they find their victim. Larger people produce more carbon dioxide than smaller people preferring adults to children. Pregnant women also exhale greater than normal carbon dioxide. Often times, many people forget that ingredients in cosmetics and lotions attract mosquitoes. A repellent like DEET in Deep Woods Off will work for a while but often the cosmetics and creams last longer than the repellants. Medications can often change an attractive person to an unattractive person or vice versa. Someone with a brain tumor was found to be unattractive and very attractive after surgery. People living with cancer almost never attract mosquitoes. There is a theory that mosquitoes need cholesterol and Vitamin B, something that they can’t produce, so must find people that are a good source for these ingredients. Leaving you with one tip, next time you’re shopping for bath products, “Go for the unscented”. |
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| What is Citronella? | ||
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Living in the Keys, we have all heard of the citronella plant and use of its oil as an insect repellent. It is used in sprays, soaps, and candles and other products. So, what is it? Citronella is native to Southeast Asia. It’s a tall, blue-green, lemon-scented perennial grass, which grows to 1.5 meters tall. The leaves are cut and left to dry in the sun where the oil is harvested. Sri Lanka, India, Burma, and Indonesia grow Citronella commercially for many uses. Besides being an effective insect repellent it has been used for rheumatism, colds, headaches, lower back pain, fevers, intestinal parasites, menstrual problems, fatigue, depression, household germicide/antiseptic, repelling cats and to increase mental alertness. |
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| District Part of New Appenticeship Program | ||
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Thirty-five students from Monroe County Schools will be given the opportunity to gain real-life work experience from local businesses through the new Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Students will receive hands-on training in the field of their choice, and will receive class credit for their work. Currently, 10 businesses are participating in the program: Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, Florida Keys Mosquito Control, Monroe County Government, Keys Energy Services, Key West Chamber of Commerce, Florida Keys Community College, Niles Sales and Service, Florida Keys Electric Cooperative, City of Key West, and Comcast Cable. |
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| West Nile Update | ||
 What is West Nile Virus?West Nile (WN) virus is a mosquito-borne virus transmitted by the female mosquito. The virus has been prevalent in parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for many years and was first detected in the United States during 1999 in New York City. West Nile virus is closely related to St. Louis encephalitis virus found in the United States and in the Coachella Valley. The virus can infect humans, birds, horses, mosquitoes, and some other animals. By the end of 2003, 46 states have reported West Nile activity in the form of infected mosquitoes, birds or other animals and humans. The virus continues to spread and officials expect the virus to cover the West Coast by 2004 |
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