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TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2007 | LONG ISLAND EDITION50¢

Suffolk Vector Control worker Tom Conway uses pesticide to kill mosquito larvae at Timber Point Golf Course in Great River.

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� Counties refine spraying, testing� Counties refine spraying, testing� Environmentalists worry about the fallout� Environmentalists worry about the falloutA4-5A4-5

NEWSDAY.COM

COPYRIGHT 2007, NEWSDAY INC., LONG ISLAND, VOL. 67, NO. 331

How aggressivelyshould LI controlmosquitoes? Talk

about it at newsday.com

BY JENNIFER SMITHjennifer.smith@newsday.com

Ditches.Dynamite.Oil hosed on marshes.Chemicals sprayed from heli-

copters.Over Long Island’s 80-year-

struggle with mosquitoes, thearsenal has certainly evolved.Together, Nassau and Suffolkare spending more than $6 mil-lion this year on aerial spray-ing, lab testing and constantmonitoring of the ponds,sumps and wetlands wheremosquitoes breed.

Still, by this time every year,the blood-sucking insects areswarming from salt marshesand dive-bombing backyardbarbecues.

Malaria no longer kills peo-ple here, and being outdoors ona summer evening is now atleast conceivable — thanks towindow screens, bug repellentand decades of government-ledmosquito control.

But threats persist fromWest Nile virus and other rarebut serious diseases that mos-quitoes spread from wildlife tohumans.

Detecting a dangerLast week, health officials an-

nounced that West Nile hadbeen detected in mosquitopools in Nassau, Suffolk andQueens for the first time thisyear.

The virus has killed eightLong Islanders and sickened 77since it first appeared in 1999.

“I’m alarmed,” said SuffolkHealth Commissioner Huma-yun Chaudhry. The federalCenters for Disease Controlreports a nearly fourfold in-crease nationwide in WestNile virus cases comparedwith this time last year. “Ifthere’s one thing that keepsme up at night it’s looking atthat data.”

As West Nile season begins,local governments once againare negotiating their annualbalancing act: protecting resi-dents from mosquito-borne ill-nesses while minimizing theinherent risks posed by thepesticides used to keep themin check.

They are also under pres-sure to keep mosquitoes frombombarding people at Long Is-land’s outdoor attractions.Jones Beach, for example, isbordered by miles of mosqui-to-infested salt marshes. IfNassau didn’t spray there,

said Greg Terrillion, the coun-ty’s mosquito control director,“You’d ask for a refund.”

This year, however, mosqui-to control programs proceedamid usual public attention.With concerns for wetlandshealth on the rise, and envi-ronmentalists challenging theuse of chemicals to kill salt-marsh mosquitoes not general-ly linked to West Nile, Suffolkthis year passed a new mos-quito control plan aimed at re-ducing chemical spraying. Ap-proval came only after loudand lengthy debate.

Helping or harming?The disagreements were

highlighted this spring as thestate environmental agency,the Town of East Hampton andan East End legislator eachtook issue with Suffolk’s contin-ued use over tidal marshes ofmethoprene, a chemical thatsome fear may harm lobstersand other invertebrates.

“I don’t want to see lobsterswith one claw down the roadand say, whoops, we made amistake,” said East Hampton su-pervisor William McGintee.

And the debate has also ech-oed this summer: Just lastmonth, Legis. Jay Schneider-man (R-Montauk) proposed abill that would restrict the useof methoprene on Suffolk’s17,000 acres of tidal wetlands.

After a vigorous discussionthat drew in health officials, en-vironmentalists and vector con-trol authorities, that bill was ta-bled, all but ending its chancesfor a vote this year.

All the while, Suffolk and Nas-sau’s foot soldiers in the publicworks and health departmentsreadied their equipment andstrategies for the annual May toOctober campaign. By now, thevector control workers are welldug in on the front lines of themosquito wars.� A dank sump the size of afootball field in residential Lev-ittown: A Nassau mosquito in-spector scoops a dipper to

check for Culex pipiens, thehouse mosquito most common-ly associated with West Nilevirus. Stormwater dumped byrecent rains has formed the per-fect larvae nursery.� Heckscher State Park inEast Islip: Vector-controlworkers pour gallons of bacte-rial and chemical agents intoa tank bolted to a waiting heli-copter before it roars off to-ward marshes where workershave found mosquito larvae.� A cramped county laboratoryin Yaphank: Entomologists usetweezers to sort different mos-quito species into piles. Caught

in surveillance traps, insects aredestined for Albany, where thestate will test for disease.

Despite the uproar over Suf-folk’s new plan, this season’smosquito programs in bothLong Island counties continuepretty much as they have formore than a decade.

Counties’ shared burdenWith more people and many

thousands more acres of wet-lands to cover, Suffolk has amuch bigger operation thanNassau, but the counties sharea basic approach to their task.They monitor adult mosqui-toes for evidence of diseaseand try to kill wriggling water-bound larvae before they moveinto their flying, biting stage.

Mosquito-breeding pools incatch basins, salt marshes andfreshwater bogs are dosed withBti, a bacterial agent that de-stroys the guts of early-stagelarvae.

Late-stage larvae are target-ed with methoprene, an insectgrowth hormone mimicker thatlimits future development. Nas-

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The buzz on LI

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� The hours from duskto dawn are peak bitingtimes for a number ofmosquito species.� To prevent bites, wearprotective clothing whenoutdoors for a long peri-od of time or when mos-quitoes are active.� Consider using repel-lent, but do not overspray,as excessive exposureposes health risks, espe-cially in children.� Most mosquitoes donot transmit disease. IfWest Nile virus is foundin your area, those athighest risk for the dis-ease — adults 50 andover — should take extracare to use repellent andprotective clothing atpeak mosquito times orconsider avoiding out-door activities then.

� Use hydrocortisonecream, calamine lotion ora baking soda paste toease discomfort of anitchy bite.� A cold pack or plasticbag filled with crushedice may help.� If a mosquito biteseems to be causingmore serious signs andsymptoms — such asfever, severe headache,body aches, nausea,vomiting, swollen glands,a rash, lethargy, confu-sion or sensitivity to light— contact your healthcare provider. Thesesigns and symptoms mayindicate West Nile feveror, rarely, encephalitis.Prompt diagnosis andtreatment are important.

SOURCES: SUFFOLK COUNTYVECTOR CONTROL, NEWYORK STATE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH, MAYO CLINIC

8 YEARS INTO WEST NILE

Place trash in agarbage canwith a lid.

Turn unusedwading poolsover or store ina dry place.

NEWSDAY PHOTO / DANIEL GOODRICH

Suffolk technicians sortmosquitoes by species.

Dominick Ninivaggi, head of Suffolk’s mosquito control

Debate over a remedy renewsas annual swarm of worry overthese flying insects hits its peak

How to protectyourself frommosquito bites

How to preventmosquitoes frombreeding near you

The West Nile picture

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

11 17 (1) 0 12 (1) 5 (1)

8 (2) 10 (2) 0 7 2

12 (1) 11 1 5 (2) 2

Diagnosed cases of West Nile virus in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. Numbers in parentheses indicate fatalities.

Year Nassau Suffolk Queens

How to treatmosquito bites

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sau and a number of other mos-quito control agencies in theNortheast use methoprene onlarvae that survived earlier ap-plications of Bti.

New York City does notspray it over ponds, lakes andwetlands, citing the chemical’s“potential to affect non-targetinvertebrates” as laid out in thecity’s West Nile virus plan.

Last year the state Depart-ment of Environmental Conser-vation revised its policy regard-ing methoprene on the DEC’s2,330 acres in Suffolk. It toldthe county that the chemicalcould only be used when dis-ease is present or if two ormore applications of Bti havefailed to reduce mosquito lar-vae.

Nassau County, which hasnot asked for permission tospray methoprene on DEC wet-lands, would also fall under the

same restrictions, according toDEC regional permit adminis-trator John Pavacic.

More recently, the town ofEast Hampton passed a symbol-ic resolution opposing the useof methoprene on town lands.

In what could signal a soften-ing of the county’s aggressivestance on mosquito control, Suf-folk health and environmental

officials have met this summerto discuss the county’s methop-rene policy with Schneider-man, East Hampton’s McGin-tee, and concerned environ-mental groups. Another meet-ing is scheduled for this week.

“We’re encouraged . . . ,”said Nicole Maher, a wetlandsspecialist with the Nature Con-servancy on Long Island.

“What we’re evaluating now isif there are further steps wecan take to reduce environmen-tal damage while protectinghuman health.”

Still, last week Suffolk officialscontinued to defend the coun-ty’s position on methoprene.They called it a safe and vitaltool. They said that limiting itsuse would cause a spike in adult

mosquitoes and trigger in-creased need for spraying adulti-cides. These products, withtrade names such as “Scourge”and “Anvil,” can also kill a rangeof insects and cause dizzinessand tremors in humans exposedto levels far higher than aresprayed from country trucks.

“We know that adulticidesdo impact non-target organ-isms and they’re much moreharmful ecologically and moreharmful to humans,” said Car-rie Meek Gallagher, Suffolk’scommissioner for environmentand energy.

The state health department’sWest Nile guidelines say “Mos-quito adulticides should be con-sidered the least desirable meth-od of control and only usedwhen current isolations of virusand / or evidence of disease has

See MOSQUITO on A27

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as battlefield

6 7Clean and refillbird baths atleast once aweek.

Clean guttersregularly.

Inspect flowerpot drip traysfor developingmosquitolarvae.

Maintain swim-ming pool chlori-nation. Flushpool covers withchlorine.

Take old tires toan automotiveshop for properdisposal.

SUFFOLKNASSAU

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SOURCES: NASSAU AND SUFFOLK COUNTIES NEWSDAY / ROD EYER

Battlegrounds Wetland areas where Nassau and Suffolk counties do aerialspraying to target mosquito larvae.

EastportEastportEastport

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HamptonWestWest

BabylonBabylonWest

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RiverheadRiverheadRiverhead

SoutholdSoutholdSouthold

ValleyValleyStreamStreamValleyStream

program, and Debbie Long of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey the open marsh of Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge by the Carmans River.

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THE MOSQUITO WARS A5

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been established.”Both Long Island counties

have a different philosophy.They also use adulticides for so-called “quality-of-life” spraying— to combat infestations of bit-ing mosquitoes. Nassau has notdone so yet this year, said Ter-rillion. Suffolk has sprayed adul-ticides a number of times incommunities such Shirley andDavis Park, which typically seelarge numbers of salt marshmosquitoes in summer months.

Even if many in the public de-mand nuisance spraying, othersincreasingly have asked authori-ties whether the insects could becontrolled without chemicals.One such method is now beingtested on the high marsh at Wer-theim National Wildlife Refugein Shirley.

There, Suffolk County has col-laborated with the federal Fishand Wildlife Service on a pilotproject to replace chemicalspraying with ponds filled withfish that eat mosquito larvae.The technique has been triedout and honed at a handful of Suf-folk sites in the past decade.

Dominick Ninivaggi, thehighly visible head of Suffolk’smosquito control program for13 years, strode across the testsite last week, mud sucking athis boots. He pointed to astretch of water filled with dart-ing killifish: “This was one ofthe ponds we constructed.”

This 40-acre stretch of tidalwetland was once state-of-theart for mosquito control. It wasscored with ditches thatstretched west to the CarmansRiver every 150 feet to drain offwater where mosquitoes mightbreed. In 2005, public works ma-chines reshaped it, scooping outponds where invasive phrag-mites once stood and smoothingdredged soil to form a mudplain.

Now, waist-high stands ofspartina and tussocks of brightgreen marsh grass have takenroot. It’s a contrast with the adja-cent unmodified area, where in-vasive phragmites plants growas tall as late-summer corn.

Ninivaggi notes the resculp-tured marsh has less phragmitesand that his workers have report-ed fewer mosquito larvae duringsurveillance checks.

Others say it’s too soon to tell.

Susan C. Adamowicz, a U.S. Fishand Wildlife biologist trackingthe project, said it appeared tobe doing well, but she has not an-alyzed the preliminary data. “Itcould take 20 years before youcan say you’ve got a handle onwhat’s happening here,” shesaid.

Still, such projects are an im-portant component of Suffolk’snew plan. But some environ-mental advocates and state offi-cials remain concerned thatoverenthusiastic manipulationcould further damage marshesalready under siege from coast-al development and the milesof mosquito ditches dug in thepast century. In a nod to theirconcerns, the county’s plan in-cludes a committee to reviewall new potential marsh-restora-tion projects to ensure they

would not harm the marsh.The DEC eventually granted

permits for the Wertheimproject. Still, the agency re-mains leery of tinkering withwetlands in light of deteriorat-ing marsh vegetation in thewestern Great South Bay andNorth Shore, Pavacic said.

Skeptics of the county’s mos-quito policies point out that theaggressive biters that live inthose marshes are a natural partof Long Island’s fragile shorelineecosystem. “Salt marsh mosqui-toes have always been here,” Pa-vacic said. And salt marsh mos-quitoes, said Peconic BaykeeperKevin McAllister, are far lesslikely to spread West Nile andother diseases than the house-hold mosquitoes that breed nearhomes in clogged gutters andold tires.

But that’s not a chance localhealth officials are willing totake. “Salt marshes are not a like-ly place for West Nile virus to bea big problem,” said HowardGinsberg, a mosquito expertwith the U.S. Geologic Survey inRhode Island who has studied

the insects on Fire Island. Butthe potential does exist for saltmarsh mosquitoes to spread thedisease to humans. “In the lab,they are vectors of West Nilevirus, and they could potentiallybe involved if the ecological con-ditions are right.”

MOSQUITO from A4

8 YEARS INTO WEST NILE

The buzz on LI as mosquito battlefield

Suffolk health employees will ground-spray pesticidetoday to control adult mosquitoes on Fire Island and in EastPatchogue, Bellport, Brookhaven hamlet and North Shirley.

All streets in Davis Park and Point O’Woods on Fire Islandare scheduled for spraying from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

The four other communities are scheduled for sprayingfrom 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Officials said residents, especially children and pregnantwomen, should avoid exposure and stay indoors wheneverspraying takes place and up to 30 minutes after spraying.

— ZACHARY R. DOWDY

Spraying on Fire Island, other areas

ADULT STAGE:ADULT STAGE: Hibernate as mated Hibernate as mated females in winter; become active in females in winter; become active in

spring and produce several spring and produce several generations of offspring. generations of offspring.

Females require a blood-based Females require a blood-based meal to form each batch of meal to form each batch of

eggs and typically search eggs and typically search near breeding site.near breeding site.

ADULT STAGE Hibernate as mated females in winter; become active in

spring and produce several generations of offspring.

Females require a blood-based meal to form each batch of

eggs and typically search near breeding site.

A mosquito’s life

SOURCE: CORNELL UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT; STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

NEWSDAY / RICHARD CORNETT

The northern house mosquito, known scientifically as Culex pipiens, is the most common mosquito species found in urban areas.

EGG STAGE (1-2 days) Eggs are laid in “rafts” of 150-300 typically on the surface of standing water.

LARVAL STAGE (7-12 summer days) Mosquito larvae, or “wigglers,” feed on organic debris in the water. They breathe air through a siphon tube on the terminal end. There are four stages of growth.HOW TO KILL Bacterial pesticides can be applied in the first or second stage. Methoprene can be used in the second to fourth stages.

PUPAL STAGE (2-3 summer days) In this non-feeding stage, the “tumblers” float near the water surface.

Total LifespanMales: 10-20 Days

Females: 3-100 Days

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HOW TO KILL Aerial application of chemicals

such as malathion or pyrethroids.

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