July 19, 2007

• Trap counts were low again this week due to the dry conditions. The only significant increase this week was from tiger mosquitoes in a few spots.
• Although mosquito trap counts are low the overall mosquito activity remains at a 2 this week due to the horse testing positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis in Suffolk.
• No mosquito samples have been sent for testing this year in Portsmouth due to the low trap counts, we have not trapped enough mosquitoes to send for testing this year.

•  There is minimal standing water in the city and almost all areas are dry. The average rain fall last week was .35 inches. Some areas received close to an inch of rain last week.
• 5 CDC style traps were set this week, with a total of 85 mosquitoes caught for an average of 17 per trap. CDC trap counts were about the same as last week.
• 18 Omni-Directional Fay-Prince (OFP) were set this week, with a total of 347 tiger mosquitoes for an average of 20 per trap. Tiger mosquito counts up this week, especially in the areas that have received rain recently.

• We had 3 service calls this week. This brings the total for the year to 20 calls.

• Crews treated 400 acres earlier this week.
• With the dry conditions crews are directing efforts are being directed towards source reduction normally conducted during the winter months.

• While mosquito counts are low to prevent mosquito bites residents need to remember to use insect repellants. Any of the many commercially available products containing DEET, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or Picaridin have been proven effective and safe. Remember, even if we sprayed your neighborhood every night, we still would not be able to kill all the mosquitoes.