Les Harrison
Contributor
The liquid contribution of seasonal rains has been frequent and copious, along with a tropical weather system. There is plenty of water for Madison County’s lawns, gardens, ponds, pastures, swamps and the aquifer.
Citizens who are dependent upon a residential wells are breathing a collective sigh of relief as the water soaks into the soil. A major concern, and cost, of a dry year is the practices required to avoid running short of water.
Municipal water system managers across the state are pleased, too. They face the same challenges on a much-expanded scale.
The bad news is water standing in ditches, pastures, swamps and any water-tight container exposed to the open environment is a probable breeding site for mosquitos.
Florida is home to over 80 mosquito species, many of which live in this area. Of those 20-plus are exotic mosquitos which have been inadvertently imported, such as the Asian Tiger Mosquito.
Contrary to popular perception, not all of these dine on humans. Some target only birds, others only frogs, but most will target any animal which can provide a blood meal.
The blood meal is sought only by the females as part of the reproductive process. The nutrients found in the blood of hosts are critical to producing viable mosquito eggs.
Both adult male and female mosquitos consume plant nectar as a source of high sugar energy during their lives. Most males live about a week and are easy to identify with a magnifying glass. They have distinctly bushy antennae on their heads.
While many of the mosquitos are considered pest, only about 20 are disease carriers or bridge vectors. A sudden increase in their population after a storm or flooding event will cause concerns with public health officials.
The bridge vectors, mosquitos in this case, do not directly infect humans or livestock with a pathogen. They prey on carriers, commonly birds, which act as the disease reservoir and then spread the infection originating in the carrier species.
When the disease afflicted carrier comes into contact with a mosquito, which will take a blood meal from any source, then the disease may reach humans, livestock and even pets when the female mosquito seeks another blood meal to support the next batch of eggs.
Disease outbreaks can occur at any time, but typically come later in the mosquito season. The preceding winter will always kill off some (but never all) of the disease reservoir animals and initially thin the mosquito population.
As mosquito season progresses, the mosquitos increase their numbers and improve their chances of contacting a diseased animal. The odds of a disease outbreak grow with each blood meal the mosquito takes.
Mosquito mitigation methods are simple. Remove standing water from around homes, barns, and other mosquito-prone areas.
Use repellants per label directions and wear protective clothing. Avoid exposure to mosquitos during dusk and dawn when they are most likely feeding. Take extra precautions when working or playing in natural areas with ponds, swamps or marshes.
While mosquitos can be a major impediment to enjoying summer in panhandle Florida, they fit in the environmental balance. Some fish fingerling and dragonflies are dependent upon mosquito larva as a source of food.
Purple martins, bats and toads use adult mosquitos as a major dietary staple. Take prudent precautions, and let the aforementioned species control the mosquitos without giving these airborne insects unintended supplemental nutrition.
To learn more about mosquitos in the City of Madison, Cherry Lake and Madison County, contact the nearest UF/IFAS County Extension Office or visit https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/find-your-local-office/. To read more stories by Les Harrison visit: Outdoorauthor.com and follow me on Facebook.