The Buzz
Volume 9, 2 July 2010
The Buzz is a monthly summary used to disseminate important information about mosquitoes and mosquitocontrol in the City of Portsmouth.
Hazy hot and humid sums up the month of June. Record high temperatures seem to have kept many people inside. Mosquito complaint calls have beenwell below normal for this time of the year. The dominant mosquitopest is the tiger mosquito. Mosquito transmitted virus activity is on the rise (West Nile Virus and Eastern
Equine Encephalitis) have been detected across the region and state. Staff is doing everything we can tomanage mosquito populations in the city.
Surveillance and Control
 Trap counts spiked in early June then started to level off.
 Mosquito virus activity appears to be on the rise in the region. Portsmouth has not submitted any samplesfor testing. We are not trapping enough mosquitoes to send off for virus testing at this point. This is forecastto change over the next few weeks.
 Rain fall has been mostly isolated showers. Primary mosquito breeding is tiger mosquitoes on private property.
 Our truck spray efforts this season have been disappointing. We lost several more spray days this pastmonth due to weather. The crew has managed to spray 1/2 of the city over the past few days. We needtwo more good spray nights to finish spraying all routes at least one time before the long holiday weekend.
For information about spray activities call 393-8666 and press 1 when prompted.
Service Requests
 Mosquito complaint calls remain low. All complaint calls in the month of Junewere caused by tiger mosquitoes.
Tiger mosquitoes are very prolific breeders. To eliminate problems with tiger mosquitoes citizens
must get rid of ALL water that can breed mosquitoes (tires, buckets, corrugated drain pipe, bird baths, boat covers, kid toys, flower pots, etc.).
 Service requests are important for us. We track complaint calls and use that data with the mosquito trap data to assign priority for spray treatments. It is important when citizens call please be prepared to provide your name, address, phone number, or email address.
Federal Activities
 Staff continue to meet and coordinate activities; we are currently evaluating conditions and adjusting control strategies to provide the most effective results.
Special Notes
 Tips for enjoying a holiday weekend with out mosquito bites. Wear light colored, loose fitting, long sleeve clothing.
- Wear CDC approved insect repellant before entering mosquito infested areas.
- This is the perfect time to do some spring cleaning out in the yard. Clean out the rain gutters, keep
hedges trimmed back to allow air circulation, and most importantly remember to empty all water
around the house.