The Animas Mosquito Control District says more funds are needed to battle the blood-sucking, disease-carrying, picnic-ruining pests.

The special district plans to ask residents to increase property taxes in November to fund more staff to combat the biting insects, said district Manager Pat Kelley.

The district collects $677,000 annually in property taxes to reduce mosquitoes from Bakers Bridge to La Posta Road. But the tax revenue is not enough anymore to cover operations, and that has forced the district to dip into its savings for the last few years, Kelley said.

The district monitors the mosquito population, eliminates breeding grounds, treats known mosquito producing habitats, sprays or fogs for insects, identifies what kinds of mosquito species are in the area and sends specimens to a state lab in Denver for West Nile virus testing.

The need for additional staff and funding was underscored this year after a wet winter and spring gave rise to swarms of mosquitoes and many calls from distraught residents “getting eaten alive,” he said.

“We have been run absolutely ragged,” Kelley said.

With additional tax revenue, the district could add two staff members to its team of four and expand its building to store equipment and products used to kill mosquitoes, he said. Storing products outside through extreme temperature swings can make them less effective, he said.

The district has not yet determined how much of a property tax increase it will ask for, Kelley said. But it has notified the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office that it plans to ask for one, he said.

The district also plans to ask voters to eliminate term limits for the district’s five-member board, because it is difficult to find residents to serve on the committee, Kelley said.

The district currently collects 0.99 mills from residents annually to fund operations. That equates to about $21.24 per year for the owner of a $300,000 home, said Mark Reddy, chief appraiser at the La Plata County Assessor’s Office.

The wet winter has challenged the district, Kelley said, but population growth has also increased demands.

The district’s staff attempts to check each property in the district for standing water, such as ponds, fountains and rain barrels to reduce the breeding habitat for mosquitoes, Kelley said.

As hay fields turn into subdivisions, the district’s staff has far more individual properties to check, he said.

“Going door-to-door and trying to take care of those properties – it’s very hard to get it all done,” he said.

But it’s critical work because controlling mosquito populations can help prevent the spread of disease, such as West Nile virus and heartworm in dogs, he said.

“Nobody wants to see anybody get West Nile,” he said. West Nile is rare in Colorado. But it can cause serious symptoms such as high fever, coma, tremors, paralysis and convulsions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

La Plata County residents have been opposed to property tax increases recently, voting down increases for county operations in 2015 and 2016.

But this season’s mosquito swarms could help the district in its bid for more funds, Kelley said.

“I think most of them (residents) are going to understand what we’ve been up against,” he said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com