It could be a very bad year for mosquitoes.
“In wet years like this, all bets are off,” said Pat Kelley, manager of the Animas Mosquito Control District. “We’re just preparing the best we can.”
Every year, La Plata County’s two mosquito control districts (the other being Florida Mosquito Control District) spray and implement other preventive measures to cut down on the number of blood-sucking insects that thrive during the spring and summer months.
But this year, officials say, poses an extraordinary problem.
Significant snowpack in the high country could result in above-average river runoff, creating pools and areas of stagnant water up and down the watershed – the perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
“When the river floods, it’s a real big thing for us,” Kelley said.
Flooding also washes away treatment placed in specific areas, Kelley said, forcing crews to go back out and spray again.
“We have to be very careful … because we don’t want to waste taxpayer money,” he said.
It’s a stark contrast from last year, Kelley said, when extreme drought, on top of smoke from the 416 Fire, made mosquitoes a near non-existent irritant on daily life for La Plata County residents.
This year, crews with the district found mosquito larvae growing April 1, considered relatively early, Kelley said.
The Animas Mosquito Control District covers an area from the Animas Valley, west to Wildcat Canyon, east near Farmington Hill and as far south as Weasel Skin bridge.
Kelley said prep work for mosquitoes begins as early as March, first treating the more than 3,000 drains in the district. Then, the district’s two crews of two employees focus on lagoons and ponds before going out onto properties where mosquitoes thrive.
Kay DeLuzio, manager of the Florida Mosquito Control District, said the district has three employees who cover 100 square miles from the Colorado-New Mexico stateline up to Helen’s Store near Lemon Reservoir. She agreed that this year could see high mosquito activity.
“I’m sure it’ll be quite a bit more this year because of wet weather,” she said. “But we’ll take it how it comes.”
Kelley said there are 20 known species of mosquitoes found in La Plata County, seven of which can carry diseases such as West Nile virus.
Claire Ninde, a spokeswoman for San Juan Basin Public Health, said there are not many cases of West Nile virus in humans in La Plata County – since 2003, there have been 0 to 3 cases a year.
Rosalind Penney, a regional epidemiologist with San Juan Basin Public Health, said the department recommends residents take several proactive measures, such as emptying standing water around homes, wearing long sleeves and pants and using repellent.
“It’s really about taking that proactive step to prevent mosquito bites,” she said.
Indeed, Kelley said the biggest message to residents is to eliminate standing water around one’s property.
“I’m amazed … people do not go out every time it rains and get rid of standing water, and understand how many mosquitoes just a little bottle cap of water can produce,” he said. “We’re doing the best we can to control all that, but we need folks to help us out.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
