South Jersey is home to 45 different kinds of mosquitoes.
LOWER TOWNSHIP — Patrick Sheets, an employee with Cape May County’s Mosquito Control Department, tromped through the mud of a Fishing Creek marsh and dipped a cup into a shallow pool of standing water.
The dozens of wriggling tadpole-shaped creatures confirmed his suspicions. The marsh was loaded with late-winter mosquito larvae.
Mosquito experts in southern New Jersey said there is no way to tell from year to year whether mosquitoes will be especially bad. But with a mild winter and early springlike conditions this month, they are already gearing up for the annual battle with the insects.
“That’s the perennial question, but it’s one you can’t answer. Mosquito populations change on a daily or weekly basis,” department Director Peter Bosak said.
Early season mosquitoes rarely pose a serious nuisance in Cape May County, he said. But the pools give an indication about where future problems might arise.
The county department spends most of the year preventing mosquito outbreaks. It is a more effective strategy than simply spraying chemicals on hordes of biting insects when they emerge every couple weeks.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_50951b84-6fc3-11e1-87b9-0019bb2963f4.html
LOWER TOWNSHIP — Patrick Sheets, an employee with Cape May County’s Mosquito Control Department, tromped through the mud of a Fishing Creek marsh and dipped a cup into a shallow pool of standing water.
The dozens of wriggling tadpole-shaped creatures confirmed his suspicions. The marsh was loaded with late-winter mosquito larvae.
Mosquito experts in southern New Jersey said there is no way to tell from year to year whether mosquitoes will be especially bad. But with a mild winter and early springlike conditions this month, they are already gearing up for the annual battle with the insects.
“That’s the perennial question, but it’s one you can’t answer. Mosquito populations change on a daily or weekly basis,” department Director Peter Bosak said.
Early season mosquitoes rarely pose a serious nuisance in Cape May County, he said. But the pools give an indication about where future problems might arise.
The county department spends most of the year preventing mosquito outbreaks. It is a more effective strategy than simply spraying chemicals on hordes of biting insects when they emerge every couple weeks.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_50951b84-6fc3-11e1-87b9-0019bb2963f4.html