By Ali LaFay
alafay@eagletribune.com
July 04, 2009 12:03 am Crops may be suffering, but the insect population is thriving in the wet, humid weather. "This is mosquito weather," said Sarah MacGregor, president of Dragon Mosquito Control in North Hampton. "It's been hurting us and helping the bugs." Insects, such as mosquitoes, thrive when there's a lot of rain because they need to live in water for a week as larvae, MacGregor said. The constant rainfall has given mosquitoes more places to breed, increasing their numbers. "In general, it's going to be a lot worse this year than it was last year," MacGregor said. The rain has forced insect control businesses such as MacGregor's to change their general strategy. In past years, July has been a time when insect control efforts focused on treating catch basins. But the constant rain has prevented swamps from drying out, giving mosquitoes yet another place to breed. "We're treading water here, just trying to keep up," MacGregor said. In addition to increasing the number of insects, the wet weather may extend mosquito season to October. "We don't dare to let down our guard until we've had a hard, killing frost," MacGregor said. Ticks are thriving, too, University of New Hampshire Extension entomologist Alan Eaton said. "All of our species of ticks have drying out as their greatest mortality factor," Eaton said. "So long as they don't have too many days in a row where things are fairly dry, they do pretty well." Fortunately for New Hampshire and Massachusetts residents, Eaton said, there hasn't been an increase in the number of ticks transmitting Lyme disease. "There's a lot of factors involved," Eaton said, "but, at this point, it doesn't look like there'll be any change in the cycles of diseases." The mosquito population, however, is experiencing an early onset for both West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis. Last year, New Hampshire had no identified human cases of West Nile or EEE, and Massachusetts had one confirmed case of West Nile and no cases of EEE. "We are expecting an above average mosquito population, but there's no way of knowing if that will mean more cases of insect-related disease," said Jennifer Manley, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services started testing for West Nile and EEE this week and will continue to do so until Sept. 30. Massachusetts began testing last week, Manley said. "I know there's a concern because of the rain, but people can help prevent this," she said. One way to help control the mosquito population is by dumping out any containers that may fill with water, such as wheelbarrows and planters. Another way to prevent disease is simply by wearing bug spray. "It really is so important that you use an insect repellent with DEET," Manley said. "You shouldn't go outside without insect repellent, the same way you shouldn't go outside without sunscreen." ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.
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