While the mosquito season begins in May and ends in the fall, it is the summer months when people start to bring out the citronella candles and bug spray to protect against the pesky and sometimes dangerous insects.
This year as health officials are issuing their annual warnings about illnesses spread by mosquitoes, the coronavirus pandemic is keeping many families at home and spending more time outside.
Some are finding that candles and bug spray are not enough to keep the mosquitoes and other critters away. Pest control services say they’re seeing increased demand for their services.
“People are seeing things they have never seen before, and they all want service right now, so we are absolutely packed with customers,” said Natasha Wright, an entomologist with Braman Termite & Pest Elimination in Agawam.
The company recommends treating the outdoor areas around a house with pesticides every 90 days or so in order to keep the bugs at bay.
“We treat all the areas where adult mosquitoes are going to rest. They normally bite during dawn and dusk and they rest on the underside of vegetation, so that’s where we would apply the product, as well as the exterior of walls where they may be waiting to attach themselves to a host,” she said.
Stephen Rich, a professor of microbiology and director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said mosquitoes breed in water, so the amount of mosquitoes every season depends on the weather.
“Mosquitoes require standing water to breed and develop. When there is less rain, there is less standing water, and that can impact mosquito populations,” he said.
Mosquito Shield, a franchise business that specializes in mosquito control, uses a proprietary blend of pesticides to aggressively target the insects.
“We use a mix of plant oils and extracts that work in three ways — it masks the CO2 (carbon dioxide) smell which attracts mosquitoes, it repels mosquitoes through a scent barrier and kills mosquitoes on contact,” said Donald Moorhouse, owner of the Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut Mosquito Shield locations.
The company works with residential as well as commercial properties like golf courses and restaurants with outdoor seating. The product is sprayed every two weeks from May to about October.
“We monitor weather conditions because sometimes in New England you still have very warm days at the end of October and that’s a time when people want to be outside,” he said. “Mosquitoes are very adaptive creatures and whatever you develop to fight them off, they eventually find a way around it. That’s why our service is so diligent.”
Beyond the nuisance of an itchy bite or uncomfortable outdoor experience, mosquitoes can also carry serious diseases.
On Thursday the state Department of Public Health said West Nile virus was detected in two mosquito samples collected July 7 in Belmont in eastern Massachusetts. Last week the department said eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) was detected mosquito samples collected in Orange and Wendell in Franklin County, and has increased the EEE risk level to moderate in that area.
There have been no human or animal cases of West Nile virus or EEE detected so far this year.
Rich said EEE was a major concern in the state in 2019.
“There was a record number of human cases in New England last year, the most there have been since the 1950s,” he said. “This year and next are predicted to also be high.”
Wright said while spraying on bug repellent and wearing long sleeves and pants when outdoors is an effective way to prevent mosquito bites, it’s not realistic for very hot summer days. Her simplest tips are to watch out for standing water and get your property professionally treated if possible.
“I would recommend that people get rid of any buckets or plant pots that may be holding water and do an outside treatment,” she said.
- State health officials urge people to start using bug spray after the first EEE positive mosquito sample
- EEE poses ‘very real’ threat, Gov. Charlie Baker warns, even as state sees positive direction in fight against coronavirus
- West Nile virus detected in mosquitos in Massachusetts for first time this year