Milford chronicle., 1932-06-24
DISCUSSES MOSQUITO
CONTROL, PENINSULA
DR.. E. l.. Cory Tells OF Methods U.s.
ed In Combating Pest

| campaign III delaware ana the EaS-
tern Shore counties of Maryland
DR.. Ernest l.. Cory, State Entomolo-
gist, College Park, Md, has prepar-
ed an article under caption, THE
Practicability of Mosquito Control
1t follows:
Mosquito control naturally falls
into two groups; that concerned
with the elimination of disease car
rying mosquitoes, and the control
of mosquitoes that are a nuisance
but non-carriers of disease organ
isms. Elimination of the mosquitoes
in the first group is a necessity. The
productive capacity of any group OF
people is dependent in very large
measure upon the maintenance OF
good health. 1t has been amply DEM
Onstrated that any population sub
ject to malaria, mosquito borne
disease, has its earning power re-
| duced; and if this factor persists
may lead to a decadence of the civ
ilization of that particular area sub
ject to the disease.
The control of nuisance mosqui-
toes is not a necessity in the sense
that the control of disease bearing
At the conclusion of the business
session, refreshments were served.
mosquitoes is a necessity, but is an
economic need that has been recog-
nized in many places and appropri-
ate action has been taken that has
controlled such mosquitoes in many
regions.
No one is so intOlerant of incon-
venience as the vacationist. Keep a
man busy and he will disregard
such inconvenience as being bitten
by mosquitoes, but once he goes off
on a vacation, one nights suffering
from a swarm of mosquitoes will
take all the joy out of several weeks
that might have been pleasant.
When the individual learns that any
given locality is generally and con-
tinuously infested by mosquitoes,
that place is thereafter Stunned.
A large portion of our vacationists
seek salt water country for their
recreation, Usually, however, the
beaches are within easy fight dis
tances of vast breeding areas of salt
marshes, where the salt marsh mos
quitoes multiply in swarms. With
only occasional off-shOre breeze,
areas situated like Ocean City, Md,
may be able to get through the mos
quito breeding season with very few
uncomfortable reminders that the
mosquito is ever present. With fire.
quent or persistent Off-shOre breezes
mosquitoes become continued top
ic of conversation and the particu-
lar resort where this occurs suffers
by comparison with other resorts,
where the experience has been more
fortunate, due in some cases to
chance, but often to the foresight of
the property holders in providing
for adequate control of mosquito
breeding.
Since the salt marsh mosquitoes
are the principle offenders among
our otherwise desirable and beauti-
full sea coast, it is necessary that we
know something with regard to
where and how the insects breed.
TherN are several species, but prob
ably the principal one is the white
banded salt marsh mosquito, known
technically as Aedes sOllicitans Wlk.
This species passes the winter in
the egg stage in the mud of salt
marshes. When the eggs become
covered with water in the early
spring, they hatch under favorable
water temperatures. The larvae,
known as wrigglers, are the active
feeding stage. These then go into
the resting stage and shortly there
after the adults emerge. There is a
succession of brOods throughout the |
season, depending upon the temper
ature and abundance of food for lar
vac. Submergence of these muddy |
areas where the mosquito eggs have
been deposited, either by rains or
high tides, usually results in a
swarm of mosquitoes in very short
time, unless proper drainage dries
up the areas where the eggs have
been laid or unless fish are able to
reach the breeding grounds to feed
on the young larvae. The breeding
is mostly in land-locked pools or in
sheet water that comes as a result
of heavy rains or high tides.
With this picture before us, there
are possibilities for unlimited breed
ing in salt marsh areas, and the
question is what can be done that is
economically practicable to bring
the mosquitoes under control. This
question is readily answered by the
of several other states.
New Jersey led the way and has
kept in the van in mosquito control.
Other states on the Atlantic coast
have followed suit; notably, Con-
necticut, Massachusetts in the Cape
Cod region, and New York. In brief,
the plan consists first in a survey
to determine the principal mosquito
breeding areas, followed by system
attic construction of drainage dit
ches that will drain the land-locked
pools and sheet water into large
channels, where the tide has
chance to ebb and flow freely. This
will permit fish to reach the breed
ing grounds of the mosquitoes. Such
drainage areas can be maintained at
q reasonable cost.
The practicability of mosquito
control is demonstrated by the in
crease in taxable basis that has fol-
lowed such operations in New Jer-
sey and by the greft development of
The resorts stretching along the New
Jersey coast. Increase in property
values makes possible the carrying
IN of this work by communities,
and the state through in