Cape May County  Department of Mosquito Control Est. 1915

Department Activities

Mosquito Biology

Spray  Notifications

Mosquito Links

Water Management

Pesticide  Info.

Peter J. Bosak, Ph.D., Superintendent

The Cape May County Department of Mosquito Control, formerly the Cape May County Mosquito Commission, has been in existence since 1915. The buildings and grounds are now used solely for mosquito surveillance and control operations  but for a time housed German prisoners of war during World War II, and Civilian Conservation Corps workers during the FDR years.  Cape May County is a peninsula covering 277 square miles, two-thirds of which is comprised of marsh and woodlands.  Much of these lands serve as habitat for the forty-five species of mosquitoes found in the county.


Mosquito Biology

Why control mosquitoes?

Everyone is aware of the "nuisance factor" mosquitoes create. This is especially important in Cape May County due to the influx of tourists during the summer season. In addition, mosquitoes are capable of transmitting disease.  The Cape May County Department of Mosquito Control is acutely aware of this potential.  Consequently, a great deal of effort is spent on the surveillance and control of those mosquitoes directly involved in the transmission of eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus among others.  Eastern equine encephalitis which once reached epidemic proportions as recently as 1959 now only rarely affects humans. This is due in great part to the work of the mosquito control department. West Nile Virus was first isolated in North America in 1999 and has since spread rapidly in all directions covering nearly all of the continent. While most recover from the disease, those that are elderly or have compromised immune systems may experience long term adverse effects or even death. Animals may also be adversely affected by mosquito borne diseases.  Both West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis are also threats to horses not inoculated against these diseases. In addtion, dog heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes and in canines not under treatment with a preventative medicine, death may occur as the worms enlarge and collect in the heart.  Dog heartworm appears to be almost exclusively a disease of dogs; other domestic animals and humans are for the most part immune to infection.  If a disease is present in the mosquito, it exits and infects the "host"  through injected saliva when the mosquito first bites.  The majority of the time, this saliva simply creates the itch most of us associate with a mosquito bite.  The resulting itch and welt is simply your body's reaction and defense to this small amount of foreign substance.

What the Cape May County Department of Mosquito Control does.

Our Department consists of approximately 18 full time employees who work year round performing a variety of tasks, all with the goal of suppressing mosquito activity in the county to a tolerable level.  Additionally, 8  to 10  seasonal employees are hired between May and October.  These dedicated people help carry out our Integrated Pest Management Program consisting of surveillance, water management and biological and chemical control.  To explain further:

Surveillance.  With sixty-three different mosquito species in the State, over forty of which occur in Cape May County, surveillance of nuisance and disease carrying mosquito populations is crucial.  The Department employs a network of "dipping" stations, so named because of the tool used to collect larvae and pupae from the water, around the county to direct our larval control efforts.

An array of collection devices are used to evaluate adult mosquito populations, from N.J. Light Traps to landing rates.  These collections are important from several standpoints:  they indicate how many mosquitoes are present, what species of mosquitoes are present, (not all mosquitoes bite humans - some are strictly cold blooded feeders, i.e. frogs, turtles!), where the mosquitoes are at present and where they appear to be headed.

The seasonal inspectors are state licensed commercial pesticide applicators who regularly answer complaints of mosquito activity phoned in by the public. Where legitimate activity is found, proper control measures are taken.

Water Management.  Both on the salt marsh and in the upland, water management, when done properly, eliminates standing water while enhancing the natural food web.  Open Marsh Water Management (OMWM) is a technique used in the control of the salt marsh mosquito Aedes sollicitans, and is the result of the cooperative efforts of wildlife conservation agencies and mosquito control agencies.  Through a series of ditches, mosquito larval depressions are connected to more permanent bodies of water, for instance, a tidal creek or salt marsh pond.  This serves both to eliminate standing water, and allow predaceous fish access to any mosquito larvae that might remain.

Biological Control.  The Department stocks appropriate sites with mosquito eating fish (Gambusia affinis).  These fish in return help suppress the aquatic populations of mosquitoes.  These fish are available to the public upon request for use in ornamental ponds where no fish are present, or in other potential mosquito larval habitats.  Bacillus thuriengensis israeliensis (BTI), a bacteria toxic to only mosquito larvae, is also used in a variety of formulations by the Department.

Chemical Control.  Two organophosphates are currently used by our Department.  Temephos, used in a granular formulation, acts as a larvacide; malathion is utilized as an adulticide from a helicopter mounted ultra low volume (ULV) system.  Both organophosphates degrade rapidly in the environment and do not bioaccumulate.

Also in use is a synthetic pyrethroid, resmethrin, delivered with a truck mounted ULV system.

For the latest information on pesticides:  National Pesticide Information Center.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Cape May County Department of Mosquito Control
P.O. Box 66
Cape May Court House, NJ  08210
Tel. 609-465-9038
Fax 609-465-7228
mosquito@co.cape-may.nj.us