Thursday, November 14, 2024

Rain and high water likely to increase mosquito populations

VIRGINIA BEACH — As if there weren’t enough mosquitoes flying around the city, the recent flooding and high water will only make matters worse.

Phil Meekins Jr., superintendent of the Mosquito Control Bureau for the city, said residents should check their yards and their gutters for standing water.

“There are probably things in the yard that wouldn’t have had water in them two weeks ago, but now they’re full.”

Gutters, he said, get clogged, hold water, and make perfect places for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.

Three species of Psorophora genus are very common locally. They’re all big, strong fliers, and aggressive biters. Female mosquitoes can lay between 100 and 300 eggs at a time, going from egg to biting-adult in just four days, Meekins said, which is far too quickly for city crews to apply treatment – especially with all of the new breeding sites the rain and high water has created.

“The good news,” he said, “is that they’re terrible at transmitting disease.”

The three Psorophora genus species found locally breed fast, live short lives, and die quickly. They usually don’t travel more than 100-200 yards from where they hatched.

To reduce additional breeding sites near their home (and theoretically the number of mosquitoes around that home) property owners need to do their best to eliminate standing water and items that might hold water:

  • Gutters that might be clogged and holding water
  • Bird baths should be emptied and refilled every couple of days
  • Tires, bottles, cans, kiddie pools – anything where water might puddle
  • Flower pots
  • When possible, manually push small collections of water away from areas where it is puddling
  • Mosquitoes also prefer tall grass and weeds, so mow and trim regularly

Meekins said city crews continue to treat as quickly as possible. But with the amount of rain and high water there has been in recent days it’s logistically impossible for them to get to all of the standing water in time to treat it and prevent eggs from hatching.

Up Next: Are the stars aligning for an invasion by the vicious Salt Marsh Mosquito? Visit Southside Daily Wednesday to learn more.

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