Mosquitos are bad!

don't tadpoles eat mosquito larvae?

If memory serves, much of the area pictured is considered wetlands.

I have a swamp next to my house that is full of water....lots of it from the astounding amount of rain we've had recently......and the mosquitos are bad but I wouldn't want that swamp filled in or altered in anyway. It's part of the neighborhood and a consequence of living in Old Pt. Washington......embrace the nature...that is why you live where you do.

This area may be considered a wetland, but until JD Miller road was paved, water did not stand there as it does now.

I have a swamp next to my house that is full of water....lots of it from the astounding amount of rain we've had recently......and the mosquitos are bad but I wouldn't want that swamp filled in or altered in anyway. It's part of the neighborhood and a consequence of living in Old Pt. Washington......embrace the nature...that is why you live where you do.

Embrace the nature! Come on! What about West Nile, Malaria, Hepatitis, etc? That's the point of the Mosquito Control.

Embrace the nature! Come on! What about West Nile, Malaria, Hepatitis, etc? That's the point of the Mosquito Control.

Go to the meeting and find out when they are going to fix it. I am not coming down to sowal if you guys have malaria and hepatitis.

Go to the meeting and find out when they are going to fix it. I am not coming down to sowal if you guys have malaria and hepatitis.

Last I checked, they blamed the county, and said there was nothing they could do.

Last I checked, they blamed the county, and said there was nothing they could do.

Then call Cecilia Jones. That is her district. Get her to get it fixed.

OMC! I had not heard about cases of West Nile, Malaria, Hepatitis in South Walton. Is there a cover up by the TDC?

There are fish that eat the larvae, and SWMCD uses those in certain applications. Maybe they could at least stock these temporary swamps with some of those till a long term solution is devised. maybe they could offer the fish for sale with a little where-these-fish-thrive class, and get citizens involved in micro-local natural control?

As to the used-to-not-flood-before-the-county-paved-the-road issue, I notice that the county doesn't often seem to follow their own regs around stormwater runoff when they pave or build stuff with our tax dollars. I will not now begin the litany of places where county projects have created terrible flooding/drainage problems, except to mention Dogwood and 30A.

So many things interrelated but governed and implemented by different empires. How to slay the hydra, or at least tame it to purposes better serving the common good.

I had not heard about cases of West Nile, Malaria, Hepatitis in South Walton. Is there a cover up by the TDC? __________________

Actually West Nile has been here for a while, same as just about everywhere else. You could ask SWMCD for their test results from the sentinel chickens they keep around town - don't know if they have any positive results this year, but they have had in previous years. I believe they also test for equine encephalitis.
I am not advocating for spraying, or any other measures - I am not going there today, thank you very much. But my point is that you can get the test results if you really want to know.
I think we have to wait on global warming a while longer before we get malaria here. And I don't believe hepatitis is spread by mosquitos, although it's quite likely if you tested everyone in SoWal you might get a few positive results.

Bats and purple martins eat skeeters. Bet it wouldn't cost a lot for SWMCD to give away lots of martin houses, or locate lots of them around areas that tend to have stagnant water. They have sentinel chickens and skeeter-larvae-eating fish, why not raise skeeter-eating birds and bats too?

When I was growing up, and that was a long time ago, at least every other house in the neighborhood had a martin house in the back. I don't remember the mosquitoes ever being particularly bad. Seems a simple enough low-tech nontoxic way that we could all participate in. For the price of a pack of gourd seeds, you could have a few dozen martin gourds at summer's end, and then all you'd need was something high to hang them from, and the right sized drill bit.

For those who want a something less curvy, some enterprising craftsperson could be making, selling and installing martin houses that look more like people houses, or cars, or sailboats, whatever.

I thought this was true too, but the literature says not.

Mosquito Control

SUMMARY

Well, you know, I don't always agree with the "literature" because sometimes it just conflicts with experience. Whenever I had purple martins, I had fewer mosquitoes.
If you have a lot of trees though, it isn't that easy to get martins to move in. They prefer an open area for approach to the gourds, or house.

My hair is getting smokey.

Bats and purple martins eat skeeters. Bet it wouldn't cost a lot for SWMCD to give away lots of martin houses, or locate lots of them around areas that tend to have stagnant water. They have sentinel chickens and skeeter-larvae-eating fish, why not raise skeeter-eating birds and bats too?

When I was growing up, and that was a long time ago, at least every other house in the neighborhood had a martin house in the back. I don't remember the mosquitoes ever being particularly bad. Seems a simple enough low-tech nontoxic way that we could all participate in. For the price of a pack of gourd seeds, you could have a few dozen martin gourds at summer's end, and then all you'd need was something high to hang them from, and the right sized drill bit.

For those who want a something less curvy, some enterprising craftsperson could be making, selling and installing martin houses that look more like people houses, or cars, or sailboats, whatever.

Thanks Susan....I had forgotten about the Martins. I am getting some gourds up soon. We have a lot of skeetos and martin houses are perfect!

When the county built JD Miller Rd, it was when we were having a drought. Apparently, they failed to consider the consequences of bringing in massive amounts of fill dirt, removing the existing ditches, and creating little berms. After all the rain we've had, the mistake has become a problem. Water stands in the adjoining properties and doesn't seem to ever drain. There has always been a lot of water flowing from West to East in that area. They have effectively created a levy! I've wondered just how far those Mosquito's would travel, and apparently quite a distance. This will become a serious health risk if not dealt with. The proximity to Town Center is a concern. The school, Boys and Girls Club, Library, and even the new construction going on at the college. The ditches need to be redone quickly!

This definitely looks like a bad state to be in for snakes too!!! When we lived in Point Washington years back the lot on the right side of us held water and took forever to drain off after it rained. I won't even say the kind of things I saw swimming through that lot! Hope all dogs/cats are on Heart Medication if they live near areas that won't drain!

I thought this was true too, but the literature says not.

Mosquito Control


SUMMARY

A review of the pertinent scientific and popular ornithological literature leads to the following conclusions:

(1) Mosquitoes appear to be a negligible item in the diet of the Purple Martin.
(2) Behavior patterns of mosquitoes and martins are such that most mosquitoes are not flying in martin feeding areas when martins are active; contact between the two is minimal during day light hours.
(3) None of the published statements appearing in the popular or ethnological literature that attribute a mosquito-feeding habit to the Purple Martin are based on a factual study; the oft-quoted statement "a martin eats 2,000 mosquitoes per day" has no evident means of support.
(4) No evidence exists that any avian species can effectively control a species of insect pest upon which it feeds when that pest is at or near peak abundance.
(5) The Purple Martin is one of our most beautiful and friendly birds. It daily consumes a large number of insects. Its aesthetic qualities alone recommend it highly to man. There is no need to ascribe to the martin abilities greater than those it already possesses in order to encourage its protection and propagation.​

Thanks for that. I have great respect for science, but it's not the be-all end-all for me. More than a few times, my direct personal experience conflicts directly with what the studies and scientists pronounce based on their research, probably an indication of just how difficult -- if not impossible -- it is to design and conduct a proper conctrolled study that accounts for all variables.

It's dusk when the skeeters are worst in my experience (I am not often about in the dawn hours so I can't speak to that time of day), and dusk is the time of day I remember seeing the martins most active. This was in Montgomery--maybe it's different here, but I am asking for a martin house for Mother's Day just the same.

Wonder what the studies say about bats. They make bat houses too.

Even if martins and bats aren't the answer, I am certain there is some natural predator of skeeters whose nontoxic skills could be invited to assist our cause of human health,safety and comfort.

Well, you know, I don't always agree with the "literature" because sometimes it just conflicts with experience. Whenever I had purple martins, I had fewer mosquitoes.
If you have a lot of trees though, it isn't that easy to get martins to move in. They prefer an open area for approach to the gourds, or house.

It would be useless to get purple martin houses for our yard seeing as our yard is loaded down with trees. We have no open areas except one spot in our side yard and the spot in our upper backyard. And still there are trees in our backyard.

Well I wonder if bats could manage amongst the trees? I don't know much about bats.

Maybe a little fish pond would be your best bet, with those skeeter-eaters in it, or a baby pool if making a pond is too much work!

Maybe someone who knows can tell us if there is any value in bat houses. We already have plenty of bats here - in the summer time, you can see them flying around. So I wonder if we have the species that would appreciate a house?
I have a cat that used to catch two or three bats every summer. He would go up on the roof and snatch them out of the air.
He's older now and his bat catching days are over, thankfully.

The solution is for the county to rebuild the ditch! Long range is for the county and the Mosquito Control to work together when building projects effecting water runoff.

Please, Hepatitis is NOT spread by mosquitoes.

Considering some of my family members contracted Malaria (living on JD Miller Road, by the way), and known individuals who have died from West Nile contracted here, along with families who have lost loved ones due to Encephalitis, or been seriously and permanently damaged, I consider the increase of Mosquitoes to be a threat to not only humans, but also animals.

Considering some of my family members contracted Malaria (living on JD Miller Road, by the way), and known individuals who have died from West Nile contracted here, along with families who have lost loved ones due to Encephalitis, or been seriously and permanently damaged, I consider the increase of Mosquitoes to be a threat to not only humans, but also animals.

You are very, very prone to exaggeration. Although these news pieces are a bit dated, they show just how RARE it is for malaria to be contracted in the US.

From 1957 through 1994, 76 cases of locally acquired malaria were reported in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said.

The CDC Annual Summary of Malaria for 1996
(January 3, 1997) reports a total of 1,542 malaria cases
in the U.S. (Figure 2). This compares to 1,419 cases
reported in the U.S. in 1995. In 80 cases of malaria
reported in Florida, all but two were acquired outside
the US.

Of the more than 50 cases reported in 2007, 42%
reported travel to Africa and were predominantly infected
with P. falciparum. The remaining cases reported travel to
areas of Latin America or Asia and were primarily infected
with P. vivax.19

Also, mosquitoes do not spread hepatitis.