Mosquito Abatement Districts have been established throughout Florida since 1915, but they only look for major sources to treat. Florida, with its widespread irrigation, has provided a great habitat for the pesky mosquito providing numerous smaller breeding areas, often right in your own yard! There are about 200 species of mosquitoes in the United States, all of which live in specific habitats, exhibit unique behaviors and bite many types of animals. Florida alone is host to about 53 different species of mosquitoes, of which 14 are considered serious pests. Most are known to suck the blood of man. The big four mosquito pests in the southern portion of our state are: * Southern House Mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) which breeds in foul water and, as the name suggests, is commonly found inside your house. It readily bites man, and is a significant carrier of the encephalitis virus. * Encephalitis Mosquito (Culex tarsalis) which can breed in just about any water and is a common carrier of many serious viruses and diseases, especially the West Nile virus. It rests in trees where it bites birds. It also feeds on human blood. * Foul Water Mosquito (Culex peus) which breeds in polluted water and frequently carries viruses and diseases, but rarely bites humans. * Tule Mosquito (Culex erythrothorax) which breeds in all kinds of shallow ponds, especially marshes. It readily bites people, and is a carrier of viruses and diseases. Mosquitoes and the Diseases They Can Carry Almost everyone has had the bad experience of being bitten by a mosquito. Mosquito bites can cause severe skin irritation through an allergic reaction to the mosquito's saliva --this is what causes the familiar red bump and itching. They can be voracious feeders--a mosquito can show a weight gain of up to 140% with a single meal of blood. But mosquitoes are more than just blood-sucking pests. A far more serious consequence of some mosquito bites can be the transmission of certain infectious diseases such as malaria, the West Nile virus, yellow fever, filariasis, dengue fever, and several forms of encephalitis. With the establishment of Mosquito Abatement Districts the endemic malaria problem has been eliminated, but with malaria still being a serious worldwide problem, human hosts can bring it into our country where it has still spread in small areas before being detected and treated. Over the past few years the mosquito-borne West Nile virus has been carried into Florida from the eastern United States, where it was first detected in 1999. The virus can cause fever and severe headaches, and may cause serious illness in people over 50 years of age, including swelling of the brain and spinal cord. Between 1999-2002 there were 4,305 cases in the United States, with 302 deaths. During 2003 alone there were 9,388 cases with 246 deaths-so the problem is growing. The Center for Disease Control reports that the West Nile virus is permanently established in North America. Not only can mosquitoes carry diseases that afflict humans, they are also able to transmit several diseases and parasites which affect domesticated animals such as dogs and horses. These include heartworms in dogs and the Western Equine Encephalitis that can be very serious to horses. In 2002, the West Nile virus infected over 14,000 horses with a 40% mortality rate, and all cases were found to the east of the Rocky Mountains.

Mosquito Life Cycle

All mosquitoes share some common traits such as a four-stage life cycle. Most females need to obtain a blood meal before they can produce eggs. After the female mosquito obtains the blood meal, depending on species, she lays her eggs directly on the surface of stagnant water, or in a depression, or on the edge of a container where rainwater may collect and flood the eggs. The eggs hatch and a mosquito larva emerges. The larva/instar lives in the water, feeds on microscopic organisms, and then develops into the third stage of the life cycle called a pupa. The pupa also lives in the water, but no longer feeds. Finally, the mosquito emerges from both the pupal case and the water as a fully developed adult, ready to bite. Only the female bites-and like the male she usually goes after a meal of plant nectar, saps, fruit juices, or insect secretions unless she is ready to breed.