The state’s recent onslaught of warm, wet weather is bringing back the mosquitoes.
And while you might be used to dealing with the tropical bug, now may be a good time to take extra precautions.
“This is one of the most active arbovirus years for the state of Florida that I’ve seen in my 17 plus years in the state mosquito control industry,” said Adriane Rogers, executive director of Pasco County Mosquito Control.
Dengue continues to be a concern for Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Both remain under a mosquito-borne illness alert, and the former reported six of the state’s 50 locally acquired cases this year, according to a Florida Department of Health report.
Rogers said that the year started with drought conditions, causing wildlife to congregate around limited water sources.
“What happens is you get amplification of the viruses,” she said. “The mosquitos are transmitting it to the birds, and then it’s sort of a vicious cycle going on between the animals.”
That means that even before storm conditions started, disease-causing viruses were already highly concentrated in local wildlife.
Then, three hurricanes, starting with Debby, created the perfect conditions for mosquito breeding.
With Hurricane Helene flooding Pasco’s coastline and Milton dumping over 15 inches of rain on the county’s interior, Rogers said the situation was especially inviting for the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue.
“That really likes to breed around people’s homes,” Rogers said. “So, things that are around your property like plant trivets, water barrels, wheel barrows, dog water dishes, things like that, anything that can hold water has the capacity to breed that specific mosquito.”
Hillsborough County reported its fourth locally acquired dengue case in a news release on Friday.
You can view Hillsborough's planned mosquito spraying treatments here.
In addition, seven human cases of West Nile have been reported in Florida this year, and Rogers said eastern equine encephalitis, which affects horses, is also being monitored in Pasco because of increased stagnant floodwater.
To protect yourself from mosquitoes, Rogers recommends wearing long-sleeved clothing and using insect repellent containing the active ingredients DEET and Picaridin.
She added, “You want to be cognizant of times during the day that mosquitoes are most active. Typically, we say avoid periods of dawn or dusk.”
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