Mosquito Control

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is boosting its mosquito control efforts in the wake of what health officials fear could be the first human case of West Nile virus in the state this year. Agriculture officials have more than doubled mosquito trapping on the Lower Eastern Shore, said Cy Lesser, the department's chief of mosquito control. The move followed a report last week by the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on what it suspects is a human case of the virus. Officials declined to say much about the case except that it involves a resident of Worcester County.

It turns out there is a dark side to drought relief. Recent cloudbursts have given birth to clouds of hungry mosquitoes, and Marylanders in their path are yelling for help.Complaints are piling up at state mosquito control offices, and authorities are cranking up a late-season spraying campaign to put down the pests and ward off bug-borne diseases."They're back in force," said Cy Lesser, chief of the Mosquito Control Section at the Maryland Department of Agriculture. "Normally, most of our mosquito problems are over by now."

Permethrin is safe, effective insecticideA letter May 31 in The Sun criticized the use of the insecticide permethrin to control adult mosquitoes.Several statements in the letter concern me because they are misleading. I wish to address those concerns and to provide information about permethrin.Permethrin is registered as a mosquito control insecticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and approved for use in residential areas, recreational areas, golf courses, woodlands, campgrounds, etc.Permethrin is referred to as a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide because, while synthetically made, it resembles naturally occurring chemicals with insecticidal properties, called pyrethroids.

Members of the Anne Arundel County Council agreed last night to consider future changes for the annual mosquito control contract with the state because of objections to use of the pesticide malathion.Council members said no change could be made in the contract covering the current mosquito season.Opponents of the use of malathion met informally for about 45 minutes last night with several council members before the regular session. They asked the county to change its contract with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, which sprays malathion to kill adult mosquitoes.

Opponents of malathion spraying to kill mosquitoes will plead their case tomorrow to state Secretary of Agriculture Lewis R. Riley."We want the spraying to stop," said Ruth Berlin, an Annapolis psychotherapist who has been diagnosed with permanent health problems attributed to malathion.Ideally, she said, she would like spraying of the pesticide halted throughout Maryland, but "of course, one county, Anne Arundel County, would be nice."That is not likely to happen, said Department of Agriculture spokesman Harold H. Kanarek.

The virus that causes Eastern equine encephalitis, a disease that can be fatal, has been isolated in mosquitoes in western Anne Arundel County near the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.Cyrus Lesser, chief of the Maryland Department of Agriculture's mosquito control program, said there is no health threat because the species of mosquito infected does not bite people, but instead feeds on birds.No additional mosquito control measures have been taken in the area.Although the virus did not turn up in mosquitoes that bite humans, it commonly spreads to them later in the summer, he said.

Members of the Anne Arundel County Council agreed last night to consider future changes for the annual mosquito control contract with the state because of objections to use of the pesticide malathion.Council members said no change could be made in the contract covering the current mosquito season.Opponents of the use of malathion met informally for about 45 minutes last night with several council members before the regular session. They asked the county to change its contract with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, which sprays malathion to kill adult mosquitoes.

State officials began an air assault on salt marsh mosquitoes over the weekend, hoping to scratch out a victory against the insects plaguing the middle and lower Eastern Shore in recent weeks.The problem hasn't been so severe since 1989, Lewis R. Riley, the state secretary of agriculture, said yesterday from his home on the Shore."Mosquitoes are an annoying nuisance and a real health threat," he said.Mr. Riley said many people joke about Eastern Shore mosquitoes, saying that those who live in tidewater areas ought to be used to them.

NAPLES, Fla. -- Leave it to a creature as contemptible as the mosquito to fall in love with a scent as malodorous as cow's breath.Mosquito control experts in Collier County are rejoicing that the nasty little biters can be lured to their deaths by a mere hint of the fragrance they find so enthralling."

HONGA -- Take home a Chesapeake memory. Feed a mosquito.You'll never hear that slogan from Eastern Shore tourism officials and merchants, but the little bug that packs a big bite is as famous in Chesapeake Bay country as the crabs and waterfowl that boosters use to promote the tidewater region.This season's first swarms of mosquitoes, including the distinctive salt marsh species infamous for its notable nip, have already taken to the air, searching for a convenient blood banquet.Just how bad they get is a matter of perspective and experience, says Arthur Meilhammer, a state mosquito control supervisor in Dorchester County.

As Marylanders slosh through their third straight month of rainy weather, the state's mosquito control chief says we have more to worry about than gloomy skies and spoiled picnics. Mosquito populations have exploded, and they're looking for blood. "This could very well be the worst year we have had in a couple of decades if this rainfall pattern keeps up," said Mike Cantwell, chief of the Maryland Department of Agriculture's mosquito control division. His crews measure mosquito populations by counting how many land on their arms in a minute.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is boosting its mosquito control efforts in the wake of what health officials fear could be the first human case of West Nile virus in the state this year. Agriculture officials have more than doubled mosquito trapping on the Lower Eastern Shore, said Cy Lesser, the department's chief of mosquito control. The move followed a report last week by the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on what it suspects is a human case of the virus. Officials declined to say much about the case except that it involves a resident of Worcester County.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is boosting its mosquito control efforts in the wake of what health officials fear could be the first human case of West Nile virus in the state this year. Agriculture officials have more than doubled mosquito trapping on the Lower Eastern Shore, said Cy Lesser, the department's chief of mosquito control. The move followed a report last week by the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on what it suspects is a human case of the virus. Officials declined to say much about the case except that it involves a resident of Worcester County.

First, it was the rain that wouldn't stop. Soon it will be the mosquitoes. Last week's downpours and overflowing streams filled roadside ditches, woodland pools, dips in soybean fields and every bucket and discarded tire in the region. And that has created vast new breeding opportunities for the annoying and potentially dangerous insects. "I think we're going to have a pretty spectacular season," said Mike Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, College Park. More mosquitoes won't just mean more bothersome bites, but also more potential cases of West Nile virus and encephalitis in people and horses, along with heartworm in dogs.

The summer season may soon be over, but no one has told the mosquitoes. ItM-Fs prime time for the pesky insects, making bug repellents and other precautionary measures necessary in many outdoor situations. Packed inside golf bags, picnic baskets and tackle boxes are all manner of sprays, balms and specialized clothing. And with the lingering threat of West Nile virus, choosing the best protection against mosquitoes is more than just a passing fancy for many. There have been no reported cases of West Nile in Maryland this year.

A buzz. A belated slap. A welt. Go outside to fish, to hike, to cook out in the summer and they're waiting, motors idling, hoping to top off their tanks with some of your house red. I still have nightmares about a camping trip near Lake Champlain a couple of years ago with my spouse and our good hiking buddy, "Big Ern" Imhoff, that had more in common with a Red Cross blood drive. As darkness fell on our little tent city so did a plague's worth of mosquitoes. They attacked us, the spaghetti sauce heating in a pot and the water boiling for the pasta.

An explosion of salt marsh mosquitoes, described as the largest spring hatch in several years, is expected to emerge across Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore this week. Triggered by wetlands flooding last month -- the result of high tides and 10 days of heavy rains -- the event could drive mosquito "landings" on exposed skin as high as 100 a minute in parts of Dorchester County, officials said. In urban and suburban communities, higher populations of freshwater mosquitoes also are expected this week because of the recent rains.

NEW YORK - The city has quietly started its war against the deadly West Nile virus, using workers to spread larvicide in ponds and other mosquito breeding sites. Meanwhile, a contract for extensive larvicide application in all five boroughs is on hold while the city seeks bids from companies other than Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management. Clarke, the sole bidder for the city's mosquito control contract, recently was slapped with a six-figure fine by state environmental officials for using untrained and unsupervised workers to spray pesticides in the city last summer.

In this long summer of rain and bugs, Baltimore and its suburbs have become the Mosquito Coast. "Our kids have bites all over them. Their legs look like war zones," said Caryle Staley, who owns a child care center in Pasadena. A new breed of mosquito and persistent rainfall have combined to produce what state officials are calling the worst summer for mosquitoes in at least 30 years. Residents under attack by the pests are deluging government offices with pleas for help. But they're being told they'll have to tackle the onslaught on their own. No one is happy.

OCEAN CITY - State officials have stopped the spraying of an abundant and particularly bothersome species of mosquito, saying they have found that effort was a waste of taxpayer's money. Cyrus Lesser, mosquito control director for the state Department of Agriculture, said that studies of spraying in the hard-hit Cape St. Claire area of Anne Arundel County had shown that pesticides were ineffective in controlling the Asian tiger mosquito. Lesser said Maryland is producing a bumper crop of the biting insects this year after months of wetter-than-normal weather.