I could write a 6 minutes now past 11. The Choppers have taken to the air the battle has been joined. Good morning. This is midday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary eichten sure. It's only May 13th, but the Minnesota on official state bird the mosquito is out and about and so too is the Metropolitan mosquito control district is first hour of. Midday. We're going to take a closer look at our old friend the mosquito and some of the latest mosquito control techniques joining us from Duluth. This morning is Tony Durkins the co-author of a Nifty new little hand size booklet called a mosquito book. He is also the author of several other books including the duct tape book and the WD-40 book. Also a little later this hour gym Stark will be joining us. He is the public affairs coordinator with the mosquito control district and we invite you to join our conversation this morning as well. The mosquitoes have been out biting already and You have a question about the mosquito and how to control the mosquito. Give us a call and we would especially like to hear from those of you who've lived around here for quite some while before there was any real effort to control mosquitoes. What was that? Like it was called Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities 1-800. 242-282-8227 6001 800-242-2828. We're talking this hour about the mosquito. Thank you for joining us this morning. Thanks for having me. How did you get so interested in mosquitoes Minnesota nasty experiences with a mosquito over and above the normal irritation that we all suffer. Probably not over and above what everybody else up her butt make my co-author Scott Anderson is Once canoed from Duluth to Hudson Bay up in Canada and during that trip. He encountered so many mosquitoes after he thought there just has to be something done about it. Now you have done extensive research on the mosquito and there's lots we want to talk with you about a first of all kind of a basic printer. Why is it that the mosquito bites us? Well, obviously to take our blood but it's not for food there. It's only the female that bites most minnesotans know that and they're taking the blood to provide protein for their eggs. So they develop so every time you let a mosquito bite you and get away you're helping repopulate the mosquito. So we're making a contribution to the mosquito Community as it and you're also an active part of their sex life now, this is one mosquito bite more than once or is it once and I kind of Of course and they get a little mixed up if they did do that that would kind of defeat the purpose because if they're dead after they bite you they can't reproduce so the female will bite up to his many times she needs until she has enough blood to provide a sufficient amount of protein for the eggs. How many people would would your average run-of-the-mill female mosquito need to bike to collect enough from one bite you they were allowed to it just depends on how long you there inside and they take about a millionth of a gallon of blood every time they bite you which would mean that your average 155 pound adult would take 1120000 bytes to completely drain you of your blood. So you don't really have to worry about what you want to do is at about half of that you will die. So if you're out and about in the summertime try to keep a mental tally in your head when you get up around 500,000 bites go inside. You are mosquitoes compared with the mosquitoes elsewhere or do we have some some real King Kong kind of mosquitoes or our kind of wimpy mosquitoes or how to how do we read what people tell me they've seen mosquitoes in Minnesota the size of small Candles now, I'm not sure if I believe that but they get pretty big. I don't think that are mosquitoes are that much different than than any other maybe your guests later in the hour can answer that clear. There's just a lot of different mosquitoes in the US in a lot of different mosquitoes in Minnesota. There's a hundred and seventy different species in the us alone and 70 more in Canada. Do you know how many of them they don't all bite though? Do they not necessarily it's but it's for mostly for Reproductive purposes. The female mosquito of of any species definition of a mosquito is a fly that bites and takes blood there is a serious side of us a course and that is that some of them actually carry diseases any idea how many are disease bearing mosquitoes not I don't have the exact numbers on the Disease by mosquitoes. But many of them do in fact because of the diseases they spread mosquitoes kill more humans than do any other animal something people should be aware about and and know is that they cannot transmit the HIV virus a lot of people are afraid of that afraid of mosquitoes and that's simply not true. Having research the mosquito. Is there one repellent that you recommend that actually works? Well, actually the book tries not to recommend anyone we try to tell the truth about all of them. The one we found hands down that everybody says works is anything with DEET in it. However deep is a very powerful chemical in a dangerous chemical. So you want to be careful a lot of you don't need more than 10% deep in your product. A lot of products have much more than that. If you're going in the Deep Woods camping and stuff you might want to use that the higher levels but it just out in your backyard around the summertime use a small amount of DEET you special deed for kids lower amounts. Never put it on children under 5 and wash it off as soon as you get in the house and that stuff actually works that stuff actually what you'll find it and often Cutters and repellent lot of the big names, but it does it see mosquitoes are attracted to the chemical signals you're giving off your sweat you lactic acid your breath and what deep does is covers of up in Mass them fools the mosquito from coming after you our guests at this hour joining us from our station Duluth Tony Durkins, who is the co-author of a new book called the mosquito book and a joining us later. This hour Jim Stark will be along. He is with him a mosquito control district to the Metropolitan mosquito control district talking about The Unofficial state bird this our mosquitoes are already biting, and we thought it'd be great opportunity to brush up on our mosquito knowledge. If you'd like to join our conversation, give us a call 227-6002 in City area number 227-6800 to +422-828-227-6000 or one 800-242-2828 on a line already. Michael had place. Hello. Yes. I used to be a guy in The Boundary Waters canoe area and thought I might share some of the experiences that I found out. There was some of your listeners when you're up there. There's nowhere to hide from them. And what I had found is that they seem to be attracted by by scent and the way I learned to live with them a little bit is before I would pack for it for a trip. I would take all of the clothes out of my my dresser and wash them in plain water all over again. It seems to be a residue of scent left on our clothing by the the laundry detergents that we use and that in itself made a remarkable difference and I also used to advise my clients to to do the same thing and avoid perfume and hair spray and cologne and cosmetic is those just seem to aggravate the problem? When I phoned the people would do that the the mosquito was much less Troublesome and we were able to cope with him a whole lot better if you absolutely right Mike there. Like I said before they're attracted to scent. You don't want to put anything extra in the summertime the only real way to keep away from them as if you can stop yourself from sweating and breathing by yourself a great big Ziploc bag perhaps or something Micah before you run a quick question for you know that you spent that you said a lot of time up in the bwca you live in Coon Rapids or in the Twin City area. Now, is there a difference between the mosquito that you encounter in the woods vs. The mosquito that you encounter say in the metro area. No, I think there's just more of them up north and in the woods around here. I think that possibly because there's maybe they habitat for them is a Different up in the Boundary Waters. There's a ton of lakes. A lot of wet marshy areas that you have to go through and there probably isn't any different than the marshy areas here, but in Coon Rapids, we live in dry sand until it's a little bit better and I think the Metropolitan mosquito control board must be helping us out a little bit here in the metro area Carol who's calling from Sioux Falls morning. I've been outside and there's all the mosquitoes have had great results with vanilla and like Skin So Soft. Why would that be There's a there's a chemical in Skin So Soft that acts as a bit of a repellent. It has the ability to to mass some of your other orders. However, Avon doesn't marketed as a mosquito repellent. They do have something using the same chemical a higher dosage called Bug Guard. There's also a people in in Florida have not been known to wear bounce fabric softener on their belt the fabric softener sheets, cuz the older they're giving off also presumably confuses mosquitoes. I think it's a fashion faux pas. There's a lot of people down there retired. They're wearing white shoes white belts. They probably just don't notice when it come out of the dryer and it and it stuck on their light light colored clothing is is better than darker colors, right? That's right light colored clothing. Well anything drab or white there less attracted to dull colors never wear red. It says you're basically ring in their dinner bell. Retracted read? All right, John your question, please. John are here there go ahead and just barely hear you a quick question. Eucalyptus and rosemary in a canola oil be that I thought much more effective than any of the other commercial products about to application today and it tastes good with smoked smudge. There's some Native American repellents cedar cedar Royal seems to work the best and it also smells. Well, basically what all these things are doing our covering up your set. And so whatever combination you find that keeps mosquitoes away from you that works with your particular scent and that you don't mind having on you as it is. The best thing for you. Tony Perkins has joined us. He is the author of a new book called the mosquito book joins us from Duluth this morning talking. Mosquito and also joining us Jim Stark was public affairs coordinator with the Metropolitan mosquito control district. We're talking about mosquitoes. And if you'd like to join our conversation what city are the number is 227-6002 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one 802-4228 to a great opportunity to get your questions answered about the mosquito Mister Stark. Thanks for coming in today. Thanks for you are out and about fighting the skeeter this morning. Yeah, actually, I was out with the helicopters this morning. We've we've already begun to the battle as you say. I would think it's it seems like it's been pretty dry this year. I would think we wouldn't have so much of a problem with the mosquito, but they seem to be earlier than usual. Yeah. We had a fairly dry winter in a lot of snowfall that makes it a little easier to control our spring species of mosquito. But in turn with that with this kind of El Nino winter, we've had an early Fairly warm conditions in we're seeing mosquito development about 3 or 4 weeks ahead of schedule the Dark Side of El Nino. He has exactly are you using some new techniques this year new product or a bacteria base thing or whatever for some time. They're kind of state-of-the-art mosquito control materials. The main material we use to control immature mosquitoes is called bti. It's a natural occurring soil bacteria. That's found in Wetlands settings around the world. It supplied with dry corn cob granules dropped into the water. And when the mosquitoes feed on this beat the Hyatt it kind of interrupts their their digestive system and controls mosquitoes. Very specific. Very safe. Material Tony suggested a couple of minutes ago that we put this question to you as well. And that is how does the Minnesota Mosquito stack up against mosquitoes elsewhere. We have a great strong virile mosquitoes can a wimpy mosquitoes I like to think we have very very very strong mosquitoes there over 3,500 species of mosquitoes worldwide. We've got 50 different varieties here in Minnesota, but we have a lot of these undulating wetlands and a lot of habitat. In fact in the metro area. We have over 60,000 identify little Wetlands that produce mosquitoes. So we have a great Reading area for these mosquitoes in and I think they're a pretty hearty variety. Let's get back to the phone. So Tom your question place. I love this show. I just wanted to ask about on the planet. How long has mosquitoes been on the planet in prehistoric days, maybe before modern civilization did humans, you know, you're with the whole population of Iquitos up maybe not just at this as part of the country, but in other parts of the the world's I can ask her where there's a lot of biting flies understand from the nature Souls III Washington as well as in the land of 10000 Lakes house that have an effect on them. As far as the other states in the union where they don't have 10,000 lakes, it's a Utah for this matter fact. I want to move away from these these mosquitoes. Is it possible? First of all historically Tony, do you know when the mosquito appeared and started the night has been around for about 200 million years. So they been out there as long as we have if not longer so there's there's always been mosquitoes and there are found everywhere in the in the world in the Arctic and the Tropics there's hardly a place you can go to get away from them. So there's no where are the populations not nearly as great as as the Northwoods here, but to be absolute mosquito free. There's just too many of them that there's a hundred trillion mosquitoes on the planet at any given time Stark as a mosquito fighter. Where would you not want to be assigned and that is to say where you just sit around like the Maytag repairman and not have much to do well certainly the more dry climates. I work for a time down in Southern California actually work for the environmental health department for San Diego County and you normally think of Southern California's being kind of desert and real dry. But we thought mosquitoes out there also, they had some intertidal saltwater. Muskie. Is there they had some a river system mosquitoes? They also had mosquitoes that developed in artificial containers like Backyard Pools ornamental ponds actually little visors that you keep flowers in his is Mesquite a certain species of mosquitoes will use those as breeding areas. So there's really no where you can get away from mosquitoes with there certainly are areas in in the country in the world that are less populated. Then then we find here in Minnesota is Lee a mosquito related to any other creature or is it its own little little deal in the in the chain? Well, I think they're related fly species to mosquitoes, but they can have their own niche. Yeah, I have a couple comments and then actually a couple questions first of all, I just want to say I live in Maplewood which is a city that has told the mosquito control district, but they're not allowed to spray there and I'm grateful for that and I don't notice any real significant difference in the city that I live in versus any other area of the Metropolitan region and a lot of other governmental units have told a mosquito control district are not allowed on your property like the Department of Natural Resources the fish and wildlife service many of the Park County and city parks around the region and I thought it was interesting that you started out talking about this as a battle with the mosquitoes because like any War there's collateral damage and I think that the public needs to know about that. Kinds of chemicals that are used by the mosquito control district are toxic to butterflies to fish because they wipe out other features like other other larval creatures at the base of the food chain. They also remove food sources for fish and waterfowl some of the chemicals that they use light cream Eucerin are are listed as possible or probable carcinogen. They are restricted in use methoprene has been identified as a possible endocrine disruptor the health department warns people not to allow their children to play or to be exposed for long periods of time to the sprays from the things they warned people with chemical sensitivity about them by people when they're going to spray their property and I want to be sure people know they can call and request not to have their property spray. They have to call the number 645-9149 and I would like Mosquito control district folks there to address some of these concerns about the impact to Wildlife to human health and also to talk a little bit about what is the real risk to human health of having mosquitoes. They always talk about Encephalitis is being a threat. There's almost no cases of encephalitis reported within the metropolitan area and the type of spray and chemical application that they do does not address the one species of mosquito that causes Encephalitis the tree hole mosquito. First of all, Jim would be in your bailiwick communities that don't allow spring just as mosquito free as the other ones what with the person has to realize is that they are still benefiting from the regional larvae control, which is mainly with the mosquito control district is all about our program is predicated on doing Regional larval control while in this Yours are still in the water. So that that continues throughout the metro area and these two cities as she mentioned have asked us not to spray and we've invited by that request still benefit from that region alarm control. What about the the broader impact of mosquito control that in fact, a lot of other species are affected. What we're certainly is a district. We're sensitive to that issue. We funded some independent research over the last seven or eight years looking at the larval control materials. The jury is still kind of out on those control materials. But basically they're finding is that the two larvae control materials we use methoprene mbti are very specific to mosquitoes in a few closely related flies. And that most other Aquatic insects are unaffected by it. You don't control materials that we use can be more broad-spectrum but we use them according to the labels and the the environmental hazards that the caller was talking about. I really come into play when when these products are misuse when they reply Two areas that they shouldn't be applied to like we're Fishburne water and more permanent water or an area where there beehives we have those areas identified in and we pay close attention to stay away from those areas. Are you doing a good enough job notifying people when you I know there's been some change in policy as a result of proposed legislation that that was tabled, right? Yeah. It's a it's a real challenge to notify people in and we've been real Progressive the last couple years and try and get the word out and who we are and what we do we do a lot of media like we're doing today telling people, you know, what we do how we do it and phone numbers to call us in case they have questions. So we tried to do a better job at doing that and we continue to do that. We're trying to work with the people who have the concerns and are trying to provide people with the information that they want what other comments I think to minimize the disease aspect of Mosquito is a real disservice last year. We had the Minnesota Department of Health reported three cases of La Crosse Encephalitis within the metro area and two more with just within miles of the district borders. Unfortunately, one of those children diagnosed with La Crosse Encephalitis died, normally this disease is not fatal, but we lost a little girl last year to La Crosse Encephalitis. So to minimize the impact of of mosquitoes in Minnesota worldwide really does people a disservice Tony do they spray in in Duluth know this we've got this great big refrigerator out here Lake Superior and the wind off vitense to keep populations down. It's very it's much less humid up here than it is in the Twin Cities. So you have kind of a natural mosquito control operation underway. That's what it feels. Like. What did you as you were looking around after a mosquito has whatever you guys are generally pretty aggressive. How to control mosquitoes elsewhere in the country or are we are we little bit more aggressive here than Elsewhere set up all across the country in different regions. I think it's based out of Louisiana. I'm right Jim. Yeah, the American Mosquito Control Association is based out of Louisiana, and I think it's depends on the population of mosquitoes in the in the particular areas. And and I guess the the desires of the communities when it be to weather that they want control methods employed or not Matt your question place. I guess you're allowed to call her and I are on the opposite Spectrum here of what the mosquito control does and should be doing a couple years ago. I understand our legislature cut the budget of the mosquito control and gave it to a to another source. And I guess a couple questions for Jim is at this time is is a mosquito control ever going to be reinstated with this money. And if so, when and what what did the legislature give this money to? Well in in night actually 95 we had legislation that that move some of our funding actually some of our living authority to another program called Midvale livable communities. We lost about 26% of our budget at that time. We are governed by a board of County Commissioners in our County Commissioners have been trying to reinstate some of that funding level and it's mainly in response to a citizen request people that really noticed a reduction in in the areas where where we stopped doing basically larval control. So the County Commissioners are are trying to reinstate that funding and I'm sorry the other question whether basically what he expect to get the money back and where it went, I guess I need to answer those questions or Jim Stark as well as he is. So at the Metropolitan mosquito control district public affairs coordinator joining us from Duluth to author of the mosquito book a new book that tells all about the mosquito. He is the co-author of several other books. So the duct tape books in the WD-40 book. If you'd like to join our conversation this hour of midday were talking about mosquitoes and mosquito control technique. Give us a call or Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand on side the Twin Cities 1-800. 242-282-8227. 6001 800-242-2828 will get you some more dollars in just a moment. I'm Lorna Benson on the next All Things Considered some say Peter residents are running into problems qualifying for a tornado because they aren't citizens. I was just lucky my parents were here. I would have collapsed otherwise, but just sat there and said fine change it to the house and can't take it from me that story and the rest of the day's news on the next All Things Considered weekdays at 3 on Minnesota Public Radio k n o w FM 91.1 in the Twin Cities. Also an invitation to join us over the noon hour today second hour of our mid-day program or going off to the National Press Club to catch up on efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland, Senator George Mitchell former Senate Majority Leader and chief negotiator for the US on the Irish peace agreement is speaking at the Press Club today. I wish people are scheduled to vote on that agreement next week and he'll be outlining just how that agreement came to be what's contained in it and what the prospects for passage our Senator George Mitchell speaking of a national Press Club over the noon hour and we'll have live coverage sunny skies are forecast for eastern Minnesota today increasing cloudiness in the west with highs in the 70s Twin City forecast. This afternoon should be sunny with a high temperature in the mid-70s right now around the area. St. Cloud is a sunny Sky 64 Rochester also sunny in 64 Fargo partly cloudy 61 Sioux Falls signing in 67. Duluth partly cloudy 61 in the Twin City temperature is 65 and skies are Sunny we're talking this hour about mosquitoes joining us from Duluth. Tony Durkins Chicago author of the mosquito book. Jim Stark is with us. He is the public affairs coordinator with the Metropolitan mosquito control district. Again, if you have a question for these gentlemen about mosquitoes number to call is 2276 thousand or one 800-242-2828. You might wait for just a moment. All our lines are busy. Lots of people have questions about the unofficial state bird Terry go ahead place in the basement that even in areas which were not the way it and it seemed like the thing to be like it's like a different a different variety of mosquitoes much larger than the others and Christmas time and some people had him even though he was even through but through a whole winter and I'm wondering if you'll get good to tell us what to do about it, Nicole mosquitoes in the home during the winter for Pete's sake you're never save that that's two normally most of our adult mosquitoes are killed by the heavy Frost in the fall, but we have certain species of mosquitoes that will overwinter as adults. They'll find areas in your basement or inside the house outside. They may find a wood pile or garage or some place where they can stay warm enough. Normally they kind of hibernate during winter. But if if they get in an area where it warms up really significantly they'll become active and they might even be out there trying to aggressively bite you some of the things I've seen that you can you can do to take care of those I've seen little these little ass breeders. They almost look like a little car vacuum cleaner that you can just kind of suck me about mosquitoes up and get rid of him that way that's probably the best way to handle him once you've got him inside the house, don't you have you heard? A word that we might be facing a new larger threat from the Rogue mosquitoes Rogue indoor mosquito. As Jim said that they find places to migrate or two to spend the winter time. They also form a glycerol, which acts as an antifreeze so that might explain why you see some in different when it's when it's colder out but as far as a new mosquito species that you know, praying on your living room. No and that I am aware of antifreeze have a glycerol. Jim could probably probably knows more about this. It's a glycerol that acts as an antifreeze go in the winter time and it helps keep their systems. Alive, I guess yeah, we have some species of of Nevada. They don't die out most of them. Do I think the Tony's probably referring to is there there are some species larval species of mosquitoes one in particular call a cattail mosquito that / Winters as an immature mosquito and they're attached actually to the roots of cattails and fibers plants. That's how they breathe. And what happens is is in the winter when that Frozen cat tell me that kind of gets all what gets frozen. They basically build up this will antifreeze in their system that allows them to a survive over the winter then in the spring when it starts to warm up. They they kind of become active kind of unattached themselves from the Cattail right and then turn into adult mosquitoes normally around the 4th of July so you could put some of those I suppose in your radiator during the winter and can I keep you from My calls I've got tired of a nostalgic type of comment like that for the following up on the question. I grew up in Minneapolis and 55 years ago. I remember sitting out in your front yard. I need a case. We have a mosquito but never in the clouds in mosquitoes like we have to pee and I think what's happening this my comment is urbanization has basically done away with the mosquitoes natural Predators. For example, I don't see clouds of dragonflies anymore. I don't see many bats around and I hardly ever see a fly catcher kite birds and so on and the question goes to I've been in the woods North with lots of times and while my arms will be totally black mosquitoes. So I wonder what I'm complaining about they never bothered and I'm wondering if some people don't have Something in their systems that offer the retractable his mosquito, like for example of a natural source of garlic say I hate to say this to you John, but you smell different than your friends. I don't know if you smell better or worse. It depends on the mosquito, but it but they're attracted to that the orders you give off in and they're going to go to one person over another just because a different chemical Clues are getting what about this theory that John has that we have reduced the population of mosquito predators and as a consequence actually have more mosquitoes lurking now than we used to. Well actually in in 1998. The American mosquito control district is entering its 40th year. We are formed in 1958 and we basically were formed due to the outcry of people of the mosquito populations that they were being impacted by the the great mosquito populations back in the late 50s. Refer to to the reduction of predator in the altering of the habitat in and that's why we've got more mosquitoes. What's interesting is that I've done a lot of research into back when when our area was settled and all you're worried about are these these hordes of mosquitoes in the the Trappers in the voyagers and and how they have to go lay in the water to to get away from the the clouds of mosquitoes that were were impacting them in a time when pretty much it was all a natural state and if if if ever nature was going to take care of mosquitoes, that would have been the time. Is there a is there a sure-fire mosquito Predator that if you had a lot of them around you wouldn't have to worry about the mosquito. I'm not really most of the studies I've read most often people talk about bats and purple martins and and dragonflies. The reality is that mosquitoes make up a very small portion of those animals diets and that they even with the few mosquitoes they eat they really don't have any impact on them. Cheetah populations write another interesting aspect of that is the the Purple Martin meth was was Amplified by a guy in Illinois certain doctor Wald and it turned out that he sold Purple Martin houses for another of their conflict of interest. Daddy Hello. Yes, I'll be on the cabin on Lake Superior. And then sometimes the flood flood of mosquitoes get into the cabin and what can we do to spray or what can we do to control them? They charmanders that night. I first of all you said that the Lake Superior is a help there, but it doesn't help around the city but they might not be up to shore words more wooded. I mean there's mosquitoes everywhere up and down on the North Shore, you know that as far as what you could do to get a I don't know something from getting in in the first place would be a big one once they're in I don't know open the doors turn on a fan if you don't want to spray chemicals in your house. I wouldn't want to spray chemicals in my house gym. What do you think you're as I mentioned before you want to I certainly would caution anyone from from spraying for mosquitoes inside their house. But as I said, there are a number of catalogs that have these little with their sometimes referred to as aspirators in I said they looking like a little car vacuum cleaner in the best thing is to do is just kind of wait till they're kind of congregate around a lighter in a specific area and just kind of suck him off the screen or off the wall. That's probably the best way to get rid of them is or is there some technique that you could use to get them all in one spot? So you could go after him as is there something that would attract them to to that as opposed to you. Unfortunately, you're probably the most attractive thing in the house. So they sometimes are attracted to light sometimes are attracted to heat so you might get them around a fluorescent lamp or something, but most most normally they're probably hang around you. Which is why you got to be cautious of those bug zappers as well. You're going to be attracting them to the ultraviolet light, but if you're outside cooking and you got the the bug zapper up to keep mosquitoes away from you will come to the light to no smell you and go way from the light and go right to you if you stayed away from the bug zapper do they work? I mean if you if you were in a different area. No, I was just going to say that day or like like the bath to purple martins the amount killed by the sappers isn't sufficient to to really keep it down in your killing a lot of beneficial insects and even some insects that feed on mosquito mosquito larvae and you'd have to get quite a ways away from the bug zapper mosquitoes really can can detect any mention before the carbon dioxide we give off when we exhale and some of the lactic acid do we get off from a fairly long distance Darrell your question, please From mosquitoes and I'm just wondering like if we live in the cities how much of a problem that actually is. Oh, yeah, it is true other there are varieties of species that transmit dog heartworm certainly the best preventative measure for dog heartworm is is a heartworm pills that that your vet prescribed but in reducing a mosquito populations, you also have an impact on the vector or the the animal that's transmitting the disease so that that will have an impact. Also, I believe the most recent information I saw we had about I think somewhere two to three hundred cases of of dog heartworm reported in the state about half of those were in the metro area and I think that was 95 data. So it is a very real problem in the metro area or something you really have to be cautious about and that if you have leftover pills from last year don't start giving them to your dog until you've had them rechecked for heartworm. Cuz if your dog has a apartment before you give it the pill the pill can. Very very detrimental to his health. Do I remember reading in your book that there were so many mosquitoes in Florida that they were killing cows? It's called Key island where they do a lot of testing for mosquito traps and mosquito whatever repellent control method. And the reason is they get so thick there at the house were actually not being drained of their blood but being choked to death by the clouds of mosquitoes. They were breathing the man they were so many and they're actually choking to death. Lord a lot of mosquitoes way there and I can remember the mosquitoes were absolutely horrendous most of the time but I honestly don't believe there any are there any worse than they are now when we get a lot of rains it doesn't seem like a mosquito control makes any general when we get like last summer they were horrible it because I think we had so much rain and one other question. I've been saying for years I have heard this quote and I I want to see if I'm going to make a liar out of me or not. But that Minnesota or Minneapolis specifically was the worst big city in North America for mosquitoes any information on that first of all gym in terms of mosquito control efforts. Are you basically working at the margins here so that if it if it really is a wedding productive season for me. Tito's you just don't have that much impact. Well, it's certainly you know, what I like to tell people is that that mosquito production certainly is stimulated by rainfall but the actual number of adult mosquitoes we deal with really depends on our agency's ability to get around to the 60,000 on a wetlands in and control the mosquitoes normally during a good flight or after heavy rainfall will treat about 20,000 of the The Worst mosquito breeding areas within the 7 County Metro area and what that does is it it keeps about 3 billion adult mosquitoes from hatching. So what we're dealing with in the summer after each each rainfall is about 3 billion less than we would if we didn't do our control efforts Tony any truth as far as you know to the old saw that Minneapolis was the worst big city in America for mosquitoes. That's something we didn't encounter in a research as far as what's worse or not. It could be since we seems we tend to talk about them a lot more here in Minnesota to be on our mind a lot. You know, we've got the T-shirt. What's the state bird and I just think it's it's more on our mind. We're people that likes to get outdoors in the summer because we can't that much during the winter and they're out there. And so they really affect our lives presumably that would be in Minneapolis. Not over here in st. Paul of course right schedule. I'm not sure. What is Woodbury I understand don't have any mosquitoes. Why should they they're paying enough on a river? What can I do around my property to to help control it and how effective are yacht yard Foggers and things like that to the what do you mostly want to do is reduce the standing water. They breed in standing water. That's where most of them are coming from. So keep your grass cut short near Shrubbery trimmed. Do you sand and fill in the holes in the trees or stumps the kids wading pool out there in the summer time when they're not in it dumped it over. Try it out change the water in your bird baths keep the drains and dishes for you. Keep your gutters free stuff, like just remove reduce the standing water Foggers. Do they work? One thing to keep in mind is that they they they may be effective but they'll probably fairly short-lived mosquito populations are very Dynamic very mobile mosquitoes can fly up to 20 miles or more. So you may impact a mosquitoes that are that are near your yard, but within a few days Amy kind of infiltrate to that's why this Regional larval mosquito approach is really the best way to do it. But theoretically if you had a group coming over for a picnic or something that might be a nice short-term solution to the could be could be there's also things you got to be careful when they are born like that a breeze will take that stuff away like your citronella candles. Don't work if you're right next to them and there's no Breeze, but putting a bunch of citronella candles out around the deck on a nice warm Breezy. Summer night is not going to keep the mosquitoes away. I've heard Jim talk about their main program being the larval control, but I have a mosquito control document that says in 97. They treated 111000 Acres with the larval control and 116000 with the more toxic adult controls that that are toxic to fish and bees and butterflies and I want to know why why first of all they don't talk about that and why they're not reducing the amount of adult control. Dim the answer that is basically it cost a lot more to do larval control. So when you look at just the basic numbers, it's kind of confusing we spend about 80% of our resources doing larval control. So that's why I say that most of our effort is towards larval mosquito control. The reason we're not reducing the adult mosquito portion of our program is that we still got a lot of requests from customers that that are asking for us to do that and as an agency Bound by statutes to do mosquito control the best way we know how that's why we still provide that service Bunch your next place. Thanks for taking my call. I previously lived in the Minneapolis metropolitan area and then move to Seattle and now live in Grand Rapids living on a lake up here. My situation is pretty hopeless, but I noticed when I went in Minneapolis to the mosquitoes go under good control and when we were in Seattle, they have virtually no mosquitoes at all in our neighborhood. We had two and they mention not About my mosquito control district or any efforts in the area to control mosquitoes. You could be outside all the time and Seattle is very wet. We did have one bug that look like a it was physically shaped like a mosquito. It was about 8 to 10 times the size of a mosquito was totally ineffectual inviting. What is the reason why the Seattle Metropolitan Area seem to be lacking in mosquitoes? Jim well, I'm not I'm not familiar with Seattle my guess. My only response to that would be is even though they get a lot of rainfall. I'm assuming they don't have the same type of topography that we have with a lot of these little Wetland areas that that's settled and hold water for a week or 10 days after heavy rainfall. That's what really is conducive to Mosquito production here in Minnesota, but not being familiar with Seattle. I really couldn't tell I really couldn't tell you. I've done your question place and slew and area say a hundred yards from my house and stays quite wet in the spring. And you said to I really can't feel that in the hold on the mosquitoes in his or anything I could purchase at all to just spray on it for a season. There there are some commercially available products. In fact the same product that I mentioned before bti is commercially available. I've seen it at Fleet Farm or other home and garden stores that usually comes in a 30-day formulation called a donut. The thing that we caution people against is that again if you just do mosquito control in that one little side on your property, you may not notice an impact on the mosquito populations because they will be fairly mobile you you can try it and see how it works out. That's certainly something that's available to you. But one thing that I caution with everyone on their using any kind of mosquito control products has to follow the labels. It's going to least one more call her on here and Kathleen. You didn't really talk to on the woman's concern from Maplewood about the fact that even in the amounts that you use these chemicals for an adult mosquitoes in Spring that they still have some carcinogenic and endocrine disruptor effects. And then you also didn't respond to a question about the fact that the mosquito that causes Encephalitis is a potentially call it a tree hole mosquito. It is not really affected by any of the chemicals that you use Well, certainly the mosquito that the tree hole mosquito. The adult mosquito is certainly affected by the the control materials. We use. In fact once we have adult mosquitoes up in flying in a certain area and diseases be transmitted really the only way to respond to that mosquitoes with adult control. It's also true that the best way to control or to reduce the risk of La Crosse Encephalitis is to remove the breeding containers that these mosquitoes developing so we try to be as proactive as we can getting the word out to to clean those things up Tony in your research on the mosquito. Did you find any good about the mosquito sure, they they they do a lot of good things basically that they live off of their important part of the food chain, but when they're not taking your blood they're living off of flower nectar. So they're helping pollinate flowers. They provide jobs for people in mosquito control district repellent manufacturers book publishers spiders. Radio host has lots of good things about the mosquitoes are really really right at the root of our economic engine here. We're out of time. Thanks so much for coming in today. Appreciate it. Thanks for having me all our distributor at 806-787-0006. It's just 695 800-678-7006. That's correct. Thank you new book called the mosquito book a nice hand size booklet and joining us from Duluth this morning. Jim Stark has been in here in our studios in St. Paul. He's the public affairs coordinator with the Metropolitan mosquito control district. Thanks to all of you have been with us this are especially those of you who called in or tried to call in with your questions and comments will continue with our midday program in just a moment. I'm willing to pain, the old adage boys will be boys is getting more attention. Just what are boys supposed to be child psychologist to have focused much attention on the Social Development of girls. Now say we need to spend more time trying to understand boys will look at new research on raising boys to be healthy men on the next stock of a Nation from NPR news. Talk of the Nation begins at 1 here on Minnesota Public Radio over the noon hour right before Talk of the Nation were going off to the Press Club to hear from former, Senator George Mitchell on the new Northern Ireland peace agreement right now. It's time for The Writer's Almanac.