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Highlands Today

Better Mosquito Control?

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Armand Mola,a master gardener trainee, hands out mosquito pellets to residents on Monday including Dave Boyer who explains that he has an acre of land with four different areas where the water stands when it rains. The bacillus thuringiensis pellets kill larvae in standing water, which control the adult mosquito population and is not harmful to the environment. Dee Dee Jacobson from the Highlands County Extension Service office said there are one hundred pellets available and they will be distributing them during business hours until they run out at the Agri-Civic Center in Sebring.

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: September 9, 2008

SEBRING - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that spraying or fogging with chemical insecticides is the least effective means of controlling mosquitoes.

Research shows that the chemical sprays only kill an estimated 10 percent of adult mosquitoes. And, the agency reported, since adult mosquitoes live only about two weeks, new larvae are constantly hatching, and so spraying needs to be repeated frequently.

Paul Hinman, a retired sheriff's deputy and now a part-time sheriff's crime prevention officer, said he learned those facts while attending Saturday's daylong environmental festival at the Agri-Civic Center, called "Home Owners: Think Green and Save Money."

At Monday morning's monthly meeting of the Highlands County Homeowners Association, Hinman asked the three candidates for county commissioner there if they would support a mosquito-control program based on large-scale chemical spraying.

Jeff Carlson, former Sebring city councilman running for the District 3 county commission seat, said he is against a massive spraying program.

Guy Maxcy, running for re-election to a fifth consecutive four-year term as county commissioner in District 5, also said he opposes large-scale chemical spraying.

Zane Thomas, running as an independent for commissioner in District 5, told the crowd of about 75 people that he, too, opposes large-scale chemical spraying.

The crowd applauded the three county commission candidates after they all had answered Hinman's question. Hinman quoted a Highlands Today story in which Vicki Pontius, county parks and recreation director, said she was given a price estimate of $700,000 several years ago for a comprehensive, countywide chemical spraying program to control mosquitoes.

Jack Richie, chairman of the homeowners association, said the county should do minimal chemical spraying, only where other, environmentally positive solutions don't work.

Two non-chemical mosquito controls that the commissioners should seriously explore are mosquito fish, which are native to Florida and similar to the guppy, and mosquito-control bacteria pellets, which contain no chemicals or toxins and prevent mosquito larvae from growing into adult mosquitoes that can fly.

Richie brought 10 briquettes of the bacterial mosquito control product, obtained from the Highlands County Extension Service, which he gave away to homeowners who could use the product in standing water on their property.

As publicized last week, the county extension office began giving away 100 samples of the bacterial mosquito control product Monday morning. By 1:15 p.m. Monday, about 30 bacterial briquettes were left, said Charlie Reynonds, a Master Gardener volunteer who was giving them away.

"We're limiting it to one package per person," Reynolds said. "Just about everybody said they have way too many mosquitoes, and they're glad for any assistance we can give them. Everybody's suffering from mosquitoes, I know that."

Richie said he will go to the Venus area Wednesday afternoon to tour Happy Trails Aquatics Fish Farm & Plant Nursery, which raises mosquito fish and has had contracts in the past with Lee County to provide mosquito fish for mosquito control.

"I invite the (county) commissioners to join me on the tour," Richie said. He noted that Colin Calway, owner/operator of Happy Trails Aquatics, was at the Agri-Civic Center "go green" festival Saturday and was giving away free bags of mosquito fish.

"We're going to pursue this vigorously," Richie added, referring to mosquito fish, the non-toxic bacteria briquettes, and any other natural, non-toxic solution to a big spike in the mosquito population caused by rainfall from tropical storms.

Non-chemical means should be used whenever possible to control mosquitoes, Richie said, because chemical sprays that kill mosquitoes also kill butterflies and birds and many other beneficial creatures.

Many of the non-chemical methods of mosquito control "are very inexpensive compared to spraying," Richie said.

At their last meeting on Sept. 2, the county commissioners instructed county Administrator Michael Wright to research mosquito control methods. Wright was asked to make a recommendation soon on how to control the growing mosquito problem in the wake of the tropical storms.

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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