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Citrus County Mosquito Control technician Eric Epps inspects a cup Wednesday, Aug. 25, that is used to collect water and checked for mosquito larvae. If larvae is found it's identified and a treatment plan to combat the specific species of larvae in the area is developed at the Mosquito Control offices in Lecanto.

Citrus County Mosquito Control technician Eric Epps tosses a trap into a pond Wednesday, Aug. 25, that will be used to collect Gambusia, a type of small minnow that eats mosquito larvae. The minnows in the pond are harvested, then deployed into areas to control the population of mosquitos larvae.

Gambusia minnows, like these collected Wednesday morning, Aug. 25, are deployed around Citrus County to eat mosquito larvae. The minnows are one way Citrus County Mosquito Control fights pesky mosquitos.

Citrus County Mosquito Control technician Eric Epps inspects a cup Wednesday, Aug. 25, that is used to collect water and checked for mosquito larvae. If larvae is found it's identified and a treatment plan to combat the specific species of larvae in the area is developed at the Mosquito Control offices in Lecanto.

Citrus County Mosquito Control technician Eric Epps tosses a trap into a pond Wednesday, Aug. 25, that will be used to collect Gambusia, a type of small minnow that eats mosquito larvae. The minnows in the pond are harvested, then deployed into areas to control the population of mosquitos larvae.

Gambusia minnows, like these collected Wednesday morning, Aug. 25, are deployed around Citrus County to eat mosquito larvae. The minnows are one way Citrus County Mosquito Control fights pesky mosquitos.

August for Citrus County mosquitoes is like Christmas to the pesky, pestiferous insects.

About this time of year, the often blood-sucking, disease carrying pests get their holiday gifts of warm weathers, rain, and all the stagnant standing water they can stand.

The population of the winged, buzzing creatures swells more than their abdomens following a successful holiday blood feast.

The five D’s for people to follow.

• Avoid going out at dawn or dusk when mosquitos are at their worst.

• Dress with long sleeves to avoid getting bitten.

But as rain continues and standing water gathers, members of the Citrus County Mosquito Control District work hard to spoil the mosquito’s banquet and try to disrupt their lifecycle so they never get to the dinner table. Instead they want them to expire while still a baby larvae or as an adult before they find a mate and lay eggs.

“Our main goal is public health … and reduce the (mosquito’s) numbers that can pass on disease,” said Blake Jenkins, administrative coordinator for the mosquito district based in Lecanto and established in 1953.

A lot has changed since pesticide fog trucks crisscrossed the county and children ran behind them to bathe in the malathion cloud.

Jenkins said in those days the malathion was meant to kill adult mosquitos. The mosquito larvae were left mostly undisturbed to grow and take the place of their parents.

But the arsenal to fight the insects has changed and improved over the years as had the strategy to get rid of the pests.

Jenkins said the district now uses an integrated management approach in combating mosquitos and the district could not be busier. That’s because of the current rains and resulting standing water. But the district’s staff is also fighting the clock.

Under ideal conditions, mosquitos can hatch within as little as three days from being laid.

That means the district must muster all the resources it can. The approaches now include biological, chemical, surveillance, source reduction and public education, Jenkins said.

Biological treatments are meant to treat mosquito larvae while they're still in the water and before they leave by wing and wind.

One of the ways that’s done is the district deposits a minnow, called gambusia, that’s native to Florida and that eats the mosquito larvae. The strategy is a good one for when there’s many acres that turn to swamp land during Florida’s spring and summer.

For ditches that fill with water during heavy rains the district applies larvicides that target the larval life stage of an insect. Jenkins said the district staff can apply it even before the rains come and it will still do its work when larvae make the ditches home.

Jenkins said when you see a ditch by the side of the road after a heavy rain, it’s likely already been treated.

The goal is to kill the larvae before they become adults and cause trouble.

When that’s not possible, Jenkins said the district turns to chemical weapons.

Chemicals are meant to kill adults, but instead of churning out fog like decades ago, the new strategy is to produce tiny droplets of chemicals, in volumes far less than before, that kill adult mosquitos. Jenkins said he can now use 0.28 ounces of spray in such small droplets that it can lay waste to mosquitoes in a full acre.

In surveillance, the district uses 12 chicken groups to detect potentially deadly West Nile virus and Easter equine encephalitis, by testing the chickens’ blood every week. The chickens can be infected by the virus but don’t die.

There are 40 species of mosquitos in Citrus County. The district’s budget is $4.8 million.

The public can help most with source reduction, emptying containers with water in them, Jenkins said.

The district can address large bodies of water such as seasonal swamps and ditches, but the district doesn’t have the manpower to go door-to-door and empty backyard flower pot saucers or wheelbarrows, Jenkins said. The district has 10 field mosquito technicians.

Meanwhile, the district’s work has only gotten more difficult, Jenkin’s said.

The district’s helicopter is broken and won’t be operational again until November. The district uses the machine to cover large swaths of land that’s not accessible or feasible by truck.

“Our helicopter is our workhorse,” he said.

But now that it’s down for repairs, Jenkins said the district can use all the help from residents that it can get.

It all makes a difference.

Areas that go untreated typically have mosquito populations 10 times greater than those areas that the district treats.

“So we’re asking that homeowners take care of their own backyards,” he said. So when it comes to containers with standing water, “just dump it out.”

Contact Chronicle reporter Fred Hiers at fred.hiers@chronicleonline.com or 352-397-5914.

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