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Standing water from recent rainfall brings concerns about mosquito populations in NE FL

Northeast Florida has seen plenty of rainfall over the last week and as a result there is standing water collecting around the area. The standing water has those at the Anastasia Mosquito Control District in St. Johns County concerned about growing mosquito populations.

“Anytime we have a lot of rain, um, we have water standing everywhere and definitely when the temperatures start going up, we expect to see mosquito populations on the rise.” Says Molly Clark who is the Education Control Specialist with the Anastasia Mosquito Control District.

The district says mosquitos tend to come out in waves after a lot of rain and typically the first type of mosquito that we see is what the district calls Flood Water Mosquitos.

“These are really bad mosquitos.” Says Christopher Bibbs who is the biologist for the Anastasia Mosquito Control District.

“They don’t carry disease, but they hurt and they’re very noticeable.” Bibbs says.

He says you should watch out with in the next week for these Flood Water Mosquitos.

He says the Flood Water Mosquitos are going to be a problem for all of St. Johns County.

“Even outside of our county, over in Duval, or any of our neighboring or adjacent counties, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, you will all be getting Flood Water Mosquitos. So it doesn’t matter where you live because Florida is a giant swamp.” Bibbs says.

Bibbs says some areas of St. Johns County will have more problems with mosquitos than others.

“South towards Flagler Estates, and uh, closer to the Hastings area, and especially north near the preserves, such as Nocatee Preserve, west near the river, Julington Creek and Switzerland Point, all of these will be hit very hard.” Bibbs says.

Bibbs says as mosquito season moves on the container bred mosquitoes tend to come out.

“Usually people don’t notice them as much, they don’t bite as hard, but they’re around, and they get in your house, then they can even hang out in your house overnight or across several days.” Bibbs says.

The district says there are a lot of different types of mosquitoes that like to breed in containers that have standing water in them. Dumping out standing water is one way you can help to control the mosquito population around your home.

“There a lot of mosquitoes that like to breed in containers such as little saucers under your plant pots, bird baths, pet bowls.” Says Clark

She says a lot of mosquitos, especially the ones that tend to carry diseases, tend to breed in flooded areas, and she says residents in St. Johns County could ask the district for help with controlling the mosquito population, it just depends on if the district can get to the flooded area.

“We can’t treat an entire swamp, but if someone has a low spot in their back yard that is breeding mosquitos, um, we can assist with that.” Clark says

The district says they expect to start spraying for mosquitos across parts of St. Johns County soon.

“We’ll be looking at water sources, doing, uh, door-to-door education, letting people know where the water is coming from, what places to pay attention to, as well as advising people how to protect themselves.” Bibbs says.

We reached out to The City of Jacksonville and they say they have been spraying for mosquitoes at select areas around the city since the middle of April and a city spokesperson says the Mosquito Control Division is providing treatment as needed. We are still waiting to hear back from Clay County on their mosquito control operations.

The Centers for Disease Control says using insect repellent with DEET as one of the ingredients is one way you can protect yourself, in addition to dumping out standing water around your home. The CDC says you can also use repellents with other active ingredients such as Picardin, IR3535, or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus for proven results. The CDC also suggests wearing loose long sleeve shirts and long pants when outside during dawn or dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

The Anastasia Mosquito Control District says this mosquito population increase which is expected is not out of the ordinary.

“As long as we don’t have any really major events, like a hurricane, its nothing people cant live with.” Bibbs says.

The district is having an open house for any St. Johns County resident who has questions about controlling mosquitoes around their home. Its this Thursday from 5-7:30 PM at 120 EOC Drive in St. Augustine.

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