The deadliest animal in the world is fragile. It’s minuscule. It’s the female mosquito.
Alachua County is buzzing with activity after the deluge of Tropical Storm Debby created ideal breeding conditions for the parasitic bugs and activated eggs dormant for years.
“We have a boom right now,” said Anthony Dennis, environmental health director at the Alachua County Health Department.
The mosquitoes’ saliva can transmit diseases such as Eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus, UF entomology professor Phil Koehler said.
But disease isn’t the only concern.
Domestic animals die of suffocation from inhaling swarms of mosquitoes, Koehler said.
Residents of Alachua County, however, can breathe a sigh of relief.
Dennis said surveillance data shows no record of mosquito-borne diseases in the area.
“I remember when the rain was coming down,” Koehler said. “I was telling everybody to wait 10 or 14 days and we’d have a lot of mosquitoes. We have five years of mosquitoes coming out right now.”
The city has been spraying for mosquitoes since late June, but staying inside during dawn and dusk reduces the chance of encountering mosquitoes and disease organisms they carry.
“If you encounter one mosquito or one bear, obviously you don’t want to encounter the bear,” Koehler said. “But from the standpoint of what’s dangerous, it’s the mosquito.”
