Mosquito Monitoring & Management

The Fire Island National Seashore mosquito surveillance and management program is the foundation for mosquito monitoring programs throughout the National Park Service (NPS). It was first implemented in 1998 in response to public concern over Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEEV), but was expanded in 1999 when West Nile virus (WNV) was discovered in New York. The goal of this program is to reduce human health risk from mosquito-borne diseases while adhering to the NPS legal mandate to protect the natural resources of the park.

From July to October, NPS biologists capture mosquitoes at various locations throughout Fire Island and have them tested for WNV. The park also monitors for dead birds that may have died from WNV, specifically crows (Genus Corvus), hawk species (Family Accipitridae), and blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata). Testing of mosquitoes and dead birds is accomplished through a partnership with Suffolk County Vector Control (SCVC).

The monitoring program helps the park assess risk levels and select management actions in order to keep the public safe. Management actions may include notifying the public of potential health risks, conducting education programs, closing areas of the park to the public, and in most extreme cases, conducting pesticide applications.

Learn how to protect against the bite of mosquitoes.

 

Why don't you spray?

The National Park Service is mandated to protect the environment within its boundaries, while ensuring human health and the safety of park visitors, residents and employees. This includes native species, like mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are an integral part of complex estuarine ecosystems. In their larval stages, mosquitoes are at the beginning of the food web for commercial and recreational fisheries. As adults, mosquitoes provide food for birds and other wildlife. Dragonflies, birds, and bats eat adult mosquitoes, and small fish and diving beetles eat tiny mosquito larvae suspended just below the water's surface.

Mosquitoes begin as tiny eggs deposited in wet areas such as ponds, marshes, mud flats, or outdoor containers such as old tires or buckets. You can eliminate unnatural mosquito breeding areas by eliminating objects that can collect rainwater.

Male mosquitoes eat only plant nectar which aids in pollination, but females need to eat blood to produce eggs. Mosquitoes generally seek rabbits and deer, but they may choose any warm-blooded animal including humans. They locate prey by detecting carbon dioxide (CO2) which all animals, including humans, exhale when breathing.

 

Asian Tiger Mosquito

You may have heard about the presence of an invasive non-native mosquito species called the Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). While the Asian Tiger mosquito can transmit West Nile virus and Zika virus, it has not been shown to be a competent disease vector in this region. Cold winter temperatures prevent the spread of Zika in the region. Transmission of the Zika virus by mosquito has not been documented in the Northeastern United States.

Suffolk County Vector Control

Under a letter of authorization from the National Park Service, Suffolk County Department of Public Works, Division of Vector Control conducts scheduled spraying for adult mosquitoes in several of the towns and villages within the boundaries of Fire Island National Seashore. Individual residents may request that their property be excluded from nonemergency treatments: Suffolk County No Spray Registry

For more information on vector-borne diseases, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions's Vector-Borne Diseases web page and Suffolk County Mosquito Control.