By Lauren Wanko
NJ Today
Ocean County Mosquito Commission Senior Inspector Walt Daymon is on the hunt for mosquito larvae.
“They’ll always be around. You can only control their numbers, which is what we try and do to stop disease outbreak,” Daymon said.
Diseases like West Nile. Ocean County Health Department Public Information Officer Leslie Terjesen worries Superstorm Sandy created more areas for standing water — the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“We are extremely concerned in Ocean County about West Nile this summer. We have a lot of drains that water is still having a difficult time getting through because of sand. We have a lot of homes that have dumpsters at them that haven’t been emptied yet and we have a lot of homes that have been abandoned,” Terjesen said.
“When you have more mosquitoes, there’s more potential for more increased risk for mosquito borne illnesses such as West Nile virus,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Christina Tan said.
There were 48 cases of West Nile last year resulting in six deaths. It’s a dramatic increase from 2011’s seven cases and no fatalities. As for this year?
“It’s really hard to predict what the season is going to be like this year, but because of the damage from Sandy, we certainly are continuing our vigilance as we typically do every single year,” Tan said.
That’s exactly what mosquito inspectors in Ocean County are doing. We followed a team as they sampled water, identified the presence mosquito larvae and then sprayed areas with BTI — an environmentally friendly pesticide. Whatever inspectors can’t reach on the ground, they control from the sky with helicopters.
“We’ve stepped up our efforts in the hopes to try and do everything we can do, that’s required of us and then some, but it’s really difficult because of the amount of debris you’re talking about out there, so we’re kind of like also calling on the public,” Daymon said.
Experts recommend taking a good look around your backyard. Tires, kid pools, toys and buckets can become breeding ground for mosquitoes. All they need is standing water, even in something as small as a bottle cap.
The recent wet weather has become another major concern in contributing to a growing mosquito population.
“It doesn’t seem like we get rain any more, we get torrential downpours and what’s happening is we have a lot of water,” Terjesen said.
“The wet weather sometimes does help with increasing the possibility for having more areas, more wet areas for mosquitoes to breed,” Tan added.
But Daymon says rainy conditions don’t necessarily equal a greater risk of West Nile.
“You tend to have more virus outbreak in smaller portions of water because it’s a concentrated area where the virus activity can take off,” he explained.
Experts insist staying aware is key and this summer keep the mosquito repellant handy.