Did record rains in Southwest Florida drive a mass of biting mosquitoes? What to know
Heavy rains and high tides have opened the door for a mosquito boom along the Southwest Florida coast.
Both saltmarsh and freshwater species are being found in Lee and Collier counties, meaning that mosquito season has started in full for this year.
Although mosquitoes can be found here at any time of year, June is one of the most active months for the flying menaces as high spring tides flood saltmarshes and early season rains flood fields, canals and ditches.
The biting bugs can be found in an epic level in Collier County at times as saltwater varieties can fly 50 miles or so in a day, mostly riding thermal winds.
"Usually what we see in the spring and early summer are the saltmarsh mosquitoes that come about after the high tides," said Keira Lucas, deputy executive director of the Collier Mosquito Control District. "We are seeing that, and we have several treatment missions along the coast."
Lucas said the district spread larvicide in April in some areas to make sure populations don't get out of control.
Further to the south, near millions of undeveloped acres of mangrove and swampland, there is no treatment program, so the bugs come in waves at times.
Public lands generate high volumes of biting bugs
"All of those public lands, Rookery Bay and Ten Thousand Islands into the Everglades, they produce saltmarsh mosquitoes, and they can migrate 40 to 60 miles on the wind," Lucas said. "And they're showing up in the Marco Island and South Naples area. They're extremely aggressive biters and they bite during the day. They swarm in high numbers, but they don't carry disease."
The disease carrying mosquitoes here are found in freshwater systems.
More: Will sargassum wreak havoc on SWFL beaches this summer?
"We did see West Nile (virus) several years ago, but we didn't have any last year or this year," Lucas said. "But we are seeing eastern equine encephalitis. We're not seeing it in Collier County, but it is in Florida and we're starting to see it move south."
Last summer was relatively dry as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, said the region was under a moderate drought for much of the rainy season.
"Last year we had a dry year and we saw less mosquitoes, but now you're going to see a much heavier season than we saw last year," Lucas said. "With the heavy rain, when that water is standing, we're likely to see adult mosquitoes within five to seven days."
Lee County flooded as well after heavy rains
Lee County is seeing similar conditions after a tropical plume sat over the state most of last week and dropped 1 to 2 feet of rain in areas.
"When you get rain across the county you're dealing with sheer numbers," said Jennifer McBride, communications director for the Lee County Mosquito Control District. "Problem No. 1 is it's countywide, and now that problems is treating them."
More: Lee County preparing for heavy rain and potential flooding this week. What to know
McBride said part of the challenge recently has been heavy winds, which keep the district from applying certain treatments.
"You can't treat if the wind is blowing too hard due to (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations, and we're hoping Saturday we'll be able to start treating and knocking down the sheer numbers.," she said. "It's been windy, so we're at the mercy of the weather and we still want the service request calls."
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SW FL high tides, record rainfall open door for mosquito boom
