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Manatee Mosquito Control tests new mosquito trap on Longboat Key

The traps are safe for humans and animals.
Credit: nechaev-kon
The traps would be mostly filled with water.

LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. -- As the weather warms up and we start seeing summer rain, those tiny pesky insects come out. So Manatee County is testing a new mosquito control method.

Lizzie Brown moved to Longboat Key from Manhattan four years ago for the warmer weather, but she hates summer.

“It’s much easier to be indoors in the cool and not have to deal with these monsters!” says Brown.

They’re commonly known as the Zika mosquitos or backyard mosquitos.

“It’s a biter," explained Eva Buckner, a biologist with Manatee County Mosquito Control. "It wants to take blood meals from humans, it hangs around your ankles,”

This Longboat Key neighborhood called The Villages has one of the highest populations of these “monsters” in all of Manatee County but hopefully not for long

Buckner said, “The In2Care trap is attractive to female mosquitos that want to lay their eggs.”

As part of a pilot program, Mosquito Control hopes to place 700 of these flower pot-looking mosquito traps outside as many of The Villages’ 210 homes as possible. Broqn is one of more than a 100 owners who’ve so far said yes.

“It’s such an easy thing for a homeowner to agree to do," Brown said. "There’s no maintenance from my point of view.”

“Inside the trap is just filled with water,” explained Buckner. Once the lid is removed, inside is a thin gauze wrapped around a ring that floats in the water. The gauze is laced with two chemicals that the mosquito picks up when she lands on it.

“One chemical larvicide kills the immature mosquito, another a fungus spore is specific to killing insects,” said Buckner.

Buckner says since the backyard mosquito lays eggs in several places, it will also spread the larvicide to each water spot.

“We’re actually using the mosquito to do the work for us. Since she picked up the fungus spore in 7-10 days she will die after doing the work for us.”

How safe is it? Buckner says the World Health Organization uses the chemicals in drinking water kept outside.

“If it’s safe for human consumption, then it’s safe for pets … it’s safe or wild animals,” Buckner assured.

Brown hopes it works. “If it gets rid of these horrible little creatures, that would be wonderful.”

Buckner says so far 60 percent of the homeowners have agreed, and they’re hoping for 80 to 90 percent to take part. The traps will be deployed the second week of May, checked on weekly and the chemical gauze replaced monthly.

The pilot program runs through August. If it works, the county will consider placing the “In2Care” traps in other neighborhoods where mosquito spraying by air or truck doesn’t reach well.

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