During Monday's meeting of the East Hampton Town Trustees, John Aldred briefed his colleagues on a June 14 count of mosquito larvae in Accabonac Harbor, where a pilot program to sample larvae has led to a reduction in the use of methoprene, a larvicide, by the Suffolk County Department of Public Works’ Division of Vector Control.
“Vector Control crews inspect marshlands that have historically produced large numbers of developing larval mosquitoes,” according to a June 13 email from the Health Department. “If the crews locate mosquito larvae in sufficient numbers, aerial treatment of the sites may be necessary.”
The county applies larvicide by helicopter over areas including Cedar Point Park in East Hampton, Napeague and BeachHampton in Amagansett, and, depending on the conclusions of a trustee-led sampling program, Accabonac Harbor.
In addition to methoprene, which some believe impacts nontarget species including lobsters and crabs, the county applies Bti, a naturally occurring bacterium that contains toxin-producing spores that affect mosquito, blackfly, and fungus gnat larvae.
Mr. Aldred was among a crew of three who took samples on the west side of the harbor. Mosquito larvae were found but “were uniformly very, very small,” he said, “the smallest I’ve ever seen.”
He said that Tom Iwanejko, the director of Vector Control, had told him on June 13 that crews sampling farther west had found larvae in all stages of development and that “they were ramping up to do a lot of spraying UpIsland.” He thought that the county had applied only Bti during its most recent targeted application over Accabonac Harbor, also on June 14.
“We’ll be going out again in the next full moon cycle in two weeks,” Mr. Aldred said, “and possibly do the following new moon and full moon cycles at the end of July and into August as well, as temperatures warm up and we expect to see more breeding activity.”
