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Community
October 6 – 19, 2012
www.SanTanSun.com
Rain brings mosquitoes, bugs residents by Cody Matera
A spike in mosquito activity in Chandler and Gilbert has some residents scratching their heads – and legs and arms – with concern about West Nile virus. A wet, humid summer is the likely culprit for the flourishing mosquito population that has targeted unsuspecting victims, according to Maricopa County authorities. Ron Warring, an avid hunter and camper, was engulfed in a swarm of the tiny creatures as he tried to play a round at the lake-filled Western Sky Golf Club near Warner and Val Vista roads in Gilbert. “Anytime we went off the fairway into the tall grass, the mosquitoes were just all over us,” says Warring. “I ran into one particular rough, slapping and smacking dozens of them, quickly hit my shot without a practice swing and then ran back to the fairway. It was really bad. We eventually had to spray up, but that didn’t stop them. They were determined.” Warring, a transplant from the mosquito hotbeds of Chicago and Kansas City, says the Valley versions are a different breed with itchy, gnat-like bites. “These seem to be smaller, low-flying mosquitoes and don’t go much above the calf. In the Midwest, they’re larger and will bite you at any level – neck, face, up in a hunting tree stand, anywhere. They leave big welts.” These “ankle biters,” called floodwater mosquitoes, have greatly multiplied since
the late summer storms rolled in. Even Warring’s son, Weston, has been pestered numerous times in his lake-dotted Pecos Ranch community south of Chandler Regional Medical Center. “I’ve walked across Pecos Park for the past 10 years to get from my house to a friend’s house. I never noticed mosquitoes, or hardly any bugs, before. This year I’ve had to fight them off.” Customers using a Fry’s water dispenser at the busy shopping plaza at Alma School and Germann roads were seen leaving their water containers in the machine and dashing back to wait in their cars in order to escape a vigorous swarm. Until a few weeks ago, Maricopa
Until a few weeks ago, Maricopa County Vector Control averaged 30 mosquito complaints a day. The figure has skyrocketed to about 300 daily complaints. County Vector Control averaged 30 mosquito complaints a day. The figure has skyrocketed to about 300 daily complaints. “We’ve been experiencing different storms all over Maricopa County,” says Johnny Dilone, Maricopa County Environmental Health’s public information officer. “So obviously, all that water we’ve received has encouraged mosquito breeding, even in areas that are typically very hot.”
Testing, treating
Vector Control is prepared with about 500 traps set in trees, on river banks and
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in other areas throughout the county where mosquitoes tend to breed. “Our traps look like a little igloo bucket,” says Hector Abundis, supervisor at Vector Control. “It has a Maricopa County Vector Control sticker on it. It has a bunch of holes on the bottom so it lets carbon dioxide out, and underneath there’s a net with a motor, and that motor funnels mosquitoes in and keeps them trapped in the net.” The carbon dioxide acts as bait for the mosquitoes. Checked weekly, the traps are used to determine if an area is at risk from local mosquito populations. Samples are collected and checked at a lab. If a
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mosquito tests positive for West Nile virus or the total number in the trap is 300 or greater, light insecticide is sprayed throughout the at-risk area in a process called fogging. Though the fogging chemicals are in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) regulations and only sprayed after midnight, residents who are concerned about fogging can call Vector Control. Their names are then added to a list of individuals who automatically receive a notice when fogging is planned in their neighborhoods. While the number of mosquitoes has swelled, reports of West Nile virus
have remained low. Dilone says a major reason is floodwater mosquitoes, though numerous, are unlikely carriers for West Nile. The greatest risk of West Nile comes from the Culex species of mosquito, which is usually active at dawn and dusk. Their discovery in traps triggers action at a much lower concentration. “If we find that it has 30 or more of the Culex species then we will conduct fogging in those areas,” explains Dilone. Even though authorities attribute the increase in mosquitoes to increased rainfall, they are diligent in preventing West Nile from once again posing a serious threat. In 2004, Maricopa County led the nation in incidences of West Nile. “That year, 355 people were reported infected with West Nile virus, and 14 died from the disease,” says Dilone. Cody Matera of Pecos Ranch is an intern with the SanTan Sun News and student at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.