Written by: David Cottrell, District Manager and Botanist

I recently met with a client who recounted a story of a lakefront cookout that was plagued by thousands of swarming insects. The culprits were midge flies and they created a terrible nuisance as neighbors tried to enjoy a beautiful evening together in Northeast Florida. The midges covered all surfaces, including—to the horror of the hosts—the freshly melted cheese adorning their juicy grilled burgers… pizza anyone? The client has a lot of fun with this story now, but the sad reality was that the beautiful setting which attracted them to their fantastic neighborhood was ruined during midge season. Unfortunately, in some parts of the country like Florida, midge fly infestations can last for the majority of the year!

There are two common groups of midges that cause headaches for many waterfront residents. One is often referred to as the bloodworm midge and the other as the phantom or ghost midge. Both groups get their name from their appearance in the larval stage of their lifecycle. While it’s reassuring to know that midges do not bite or spread disease like mosquitoes, they can have a significant impact on the enjoyment of outdoor spaces; they create a mess to clean up, mar painted surfaces, and may even cause problems for asthma sufferers.

Recently, the first human case of Eastern Equine encephalitis (EEE) since 2013 was in reported in New England, putting hundreds of communities at “critical risk” of exposure to this mosquito-borne disease, which can cause flu-like symptoms, brain inflammation and, in severe cases, death. To protect your family and community from EEE, as well as other viruses like Zika and West Nile Virus, SOLitude Lake Management recommends the following tips:

Summer means longer, sunnier days filled with fishing, boating and other outdoor activities. But as the warm weather arrives, it can create conditions that may be dangerous for the health and well-being of your family and the environment. Implementing the following proactive and sustainable strategies—or working with your homeowners association, parks service or municipality to do so—can help prevent harmful algal blooms, nuisance mosquitoes and the spread of dangerous invasive plants throughout the summer.

Summer is typically the time when communities, associations and property owners get the most out of their lakes, ponds and wetland ecosystems, but pesky mosquitoes can interrupt recreational activities and overall enjoyment of the outdoors. In addition to being a nuisance, mosquitoes can carry debilitating diseases, including Zika, Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus, which is the most widespread and deadly, reported in 47 states and claiming more than 100 lives last year. Though mainstream media attention has shifted away from mosquito-borne diseases since the Zika scare of 2015-16, these viruses are still transmitted throughout the country.

"Mosquitoes are a threat to communities in many ways” SOLitude Lake Management’s President Marc Bellaud said. “It’s critical for municipalities, landowners and associations to understand and implement preventative management strategies that are effective and well as safe for residents and the environment.”

To protect community members and limit mosquitoes around your waterbody this summer, SOLitude Lake Management recommends the following preventative tips:

What comes to mind when you think of warm weather? Maybe a nice, relaxing day on the beach or lake? Or maybe it’s the reminder that pesky bugs will be making their comeback for the summer. Out of all the little annoyances, mosquitoes are often considered the worst. In addition to being annoying, mosquitoes pose a serious threat to public health, as they transmit dangerous diseases like Zika and West Nile Virus. Luckily, there are several management strategies to help prevent mosquitoes from bugging you this summer. So, put down the citronella candle and take notes on how you can protect yourself from these pesky intruders.

AS SEEN IN Various Community Associations Institute Chapter Newsletters: Written by Industry Expert Gavin Ferris, Ecologist

I was on a genealogy website not long ago when I was reading about an ancestor, and this line stuck out to me: “…the first year after his return from the army he was able to do but little work, as he suffered greatly from fever and ague, which he had contracted in the service.” Fever and ague was, at the time, the terminology used to describe what we now call Malaria, and the war in which my ancestor contracted the disease was the American Civil War. He probably was bitten by an infected mosquito somewhere in Virginia.

Zika virus is making a lot of news lately, but mosquito-borne diseases are nothing new in the United States. Malaria was common over most of the country up through the 1800s, and wasn’t eradicated here until the early 1950s. Other mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus, and more recently Chikungunya, are currently carried by mosquitoes in the United States, and can pose a serious threat to public health. Preventing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases, and the other unpleasant consequences of mosquito infestation, requires a proactive multi-pronged approach. It is important to understand the biology of the mosquitoes involved, their behavior, and how environmental conditions contribute to mosquito problems.

Memorial Day marked the unofficial beginning of summer—and the onset of mosquito season. Cold-blooded mosquitoes thrive in balmy temperatures and can get dangerously out of hand without proper management. To limit the impact of mosquitoes during summer travel and activities, SOLitude Lake Management, an industry leader in lake and pond management, fisheries management and related environmental services for the United States, recommends the following ecologically sustainable, preventative, and proactive measures to homeowners, landowners, golf courses and municipalities. 

Eliminate breeding habitats
Throughout her six- to eight-week lifespan, a female mosquito will lay about 300 eggs, often in standing or stagnant water. Clearing gutters, picking up litter and emptying buckets and small outdoor containers can help decrease the number of available habitats for mosquitoes to reproduce and thrive.

Circulate stagnant lakes and ponds
In aquatic environments such as lakes, ponds and stormwater basins, the introduction of aeration can help consistently circulate warm stagnant water and help create unfit mosquito breeding grounds. 

Mosquitoes are a royal pain that nobody wants to deal with. And in addition to being an annoyance, mosquitoes pose a serious threat to public health, as they transmit dangerous diseases like Zika and West Nile virus. Here are 10 ways to help reduce mosquitoes in and around your lake or pond, and throughout your community:

1. Remove cattails and other non-beneficial shoreline vegetation, which can provide breeding habitat for mosquitoes.

2. Maintain a buffer of beneficial vegetation, such as Pickerelweed and Cardinal Flower, to help provide habitat for mosquito predators like dragonflies.

Worldwide, mosquito-borne illnesses are a serious public health concern and affect nearly 700 million people each year. Zika virus (ZIKV), a relatively unknown and unstudied virus, has been a hot topic in the news over the past several months – and rightfully so. ZIKV has spread quickly through Latin America and the Caribbean, and over 800 travel related cases have been reported in the United States as of June 2016. There are major concerns surrounding Zika virus disease, particularly for pregnant women; therefore, it is important to understand ZIKV, how it’s spread and how it can be prevented.

Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 in the Zika Forest of Uganda. Prior to 2007, it had only been detected in central Africa and throughout Southeast Asia. However, in 2007, it was associated with a disease outbreak on Yap Island in the South Pacific, representing the first time it had spread outside of Asia. From there, it spread to South America with human cases first reported in 2014.

There are over 3,500 species of mosquitoes in the world, many of which carry infectious diseases such as West Nile Virus. Simple steps can be taken to protect your employees, community residents, or your family from mosquito borne disease. Aside from the obvious health benefits, these steps can make for a more enjoyable community, common area, and backyard as well.

Although wide area mosquito control is often considered the responsibility of the city, county, or municipality in which you live, often times these programs are non-existent, or woefully inadequate. It is actually something that many large sites should consider handling internally. Homeowners associations, golf courses, outdoor recreational facilities, industrial sites, commercial properties, and larger private land owners can all use this type of program to effectively and efficiently control nuisance and disease carrying mosquitos on their properties.