Flathead 'overwhelmed' with mosquitos

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

Don't worry, it's not your imagination. The mosquitos really are worse this year.

Bruce Gunderson, the Flathead County Mosquito Control Coordinator, said that high water and the late runoff have contributed to give the valley what equates to a five or 10 year mosquito event.

"We've really had a perfect storm for a mosquito hatch this year," he said. "Right now we're just overwhelmed with mosquitos."

The biting bugs' eggs can lay dormant for five years, Gunderson said, so with this year's high water, eggs that may have accumulated over the last few years are hatching all at once.

And even areas without water are seeing mosquitos because they can fly up to 20 miles, he said.

Gunderson said his office fields calls from property owners with known problem areas and they will go out and apply larvaecide to the spot.

Mosquitos breed in stangnant water and Gunderson said the worst areas in the Valley right now are along rivers, where the runoff has pushed up groudnwater levels to create marshy areas or ponds nearby.

The type of mosquitos plagueing the Flathead now are floodwater mosquitos and can't carry the West Nile Virus, Gunderson said. But the type of mosquito that can transmit the virus should be appearing in the next week or two. That type of mosquito accounts for only about 2 percent of the total number of the mosquitos in the Flathead, according to Gunderson.

The Flathead City-County Health Department just collected their first mosquito sample to be sent off and tested for the virus on Monday.

"That sample had about four times as many as we captured at this time last year," Gunderson said.

The Mosquito Control District offers a few tips for minimizing the impact of the pests that they sum up as the "5 D's."

The first is "District," which encourages people to call Gunderson at 751-8145 to report areas affected by seasonal flooding or runoff that is stagnant.

The second is "Drain," which asks landowners to elimate trash and water in places like cutters and uncovered boats and tires as well as draining wading pools or birdbaths regularly.

The other three are "Dawn to Dusk" and "DEET," the first being the times mosquitos are most active and the latter being a potent type of bug repellent. Caution should be exercised when using DEET, especially with children, and parents should always check safety instructions.

Of course those are all guidlines, and this season's hatch might prove a bigger challenge to stay itch-free.

"People should seal doors and windows like they would in the winter." Gunderson said. "They tend to be out during dawn and dusk, but this year they seem to be out all day long."