Battling the bugs

SIKESTON - Area residents gathering outside in the evening for firework displays may be able to enjoy them with considerably less harassment from mosquitoes this year.

"We really haven't had any complaints as far as mosquitoes - it's been so dry, and that's been a factor," said Steve Lee, Sikeston's street superintendent. "We've had a good year so far keeping them down."

"Considering how dry the winter was as well as the spring, you're not going to have near as many breeding sites for mosquitoes and as many adult mosquitoes emerging," confirmed Michael Boyd, an entomologist living in Sikeston.

Even in a good year, however, Southeast Missouri is unlikely to be a mosquito-free zone, so the street department is still conducting its annual war on the bloodsucking pests.

In May, the street department started running one fogger and pretreating catch basins, ponds, lakes and stagnant ditches with 120-day briquettes.

"It's time to do that again in July," Lee said. He explained overlapping the briquettes helps "to ensure we can keep them down. Probably next week we'll start treating the stagnant water areas again."

The street department will also begin running a second mosquito fogger in a couple of weeks as well, Lee said.

Both Lee and Boyd urged area residents to do their part by eliminating stagnant water around their homes. The city has 10-point checklist for residents to use when looking for mosquito breeding places. "We have it online at our city Web site and at City Hall," Lee said.

Boyd said it is possible the mosquito population could stay relatively low for the rest of the summer. "It just depends on what the rainfall patterns are the rest of the year," he said. "If it stays relatively dry the mosquitoes won't be as bad."

The larger mosquito varieties that are found around rice fields and can travel great distances may have lower populations this year as well depending on how often rice farmers flush their fields.

Water from the irrigation wells tends to be cool which mosquitoes don't like this nearly as much as warmer stagnant waters, Boyd said.

While the mosquito population is down along with other insects due to the dry weather, there is a trade off.

Spider mite populations, for example, are likely to be higher although they are arachnids not insects.

"They're kin to spiders and ticks," Boyd said. "They certainly like the hotter, drier weather better - particularly the drier component."

He explained rains tend to wash them off plants. "Certainly I would expect them to be more of a problem this year," he said.

Cotton farmers may want to keep an eye out for plant bugs which Boyd said are "fairly small insects that have piercing, sucking mouth parts" that are used like hypodermic needle to suck out plant juices.

There are two main varieties of the plant bugs: tarnished and clouded. "The tarnished is the most common one - you probably see it nine out of ten times," he said.

"Most of the cotton farms in this area water their crops so that should make them a good source for plant bugs and also since it's hotter and drier their wheat hosts won't be as available," he explained. "Any type of green, lush plant will be attractive to them rather than the plants that are dry and brown."

He advised the general public to "keep an eye out for ticks - particularly after any rainfall."

Boyd said to check yourself as well as children and pets after walking in heavy grass or brush.

Those frequenting the Kentucky Lake area have noted there seems to be a lot of ticks this year. "I wouldn't be surprised," Boyd said. He explained there are plenty of deer around to support the tick population as well as other wildlife.

Boyd added that if area residents or farmers "happen to see something unusual I would encourage them to contact their local extension office and report it."

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