Mosquito season is upon us. There are two reasons for trying to control mosquitoes, because they carry diseases and because they are pests. Beyond accepting mosquitoes as a distinct condition of living on the Nature Coast, killing mosquitoes with toxic sprays, preventing breeding by draining water sources and repelling them with lotions are common strategies. Two other strategies are trapping mosquitoes before they bite and encouraging natural control by mosquito predators. There are occasional cases of encephalitis or West Nile virus in humans, but mosquitoes in Cedar Key are simply pests. Levy County Mosquito Control sprays a malathion fog when citizens complain about mosquitoes. When asked to avoid spraying clam nurseries that agency has been obliging. (The effectiveness of the spray in truly reducing mosquito populations and its toxicity to seed clams are not scientific facts. What is certain is that spraying costs tax dollars and not spraying saves tax dollars.) Reducing mosquito numbers by reducing breeding sources will not work on an island surrounded by marshes. That leaves three options, namely, repelling mosquitoes, trapping them and hoping something will eat them. Which brings us to encouraging natural predators: dragonflies, bats and predatory fish. Fish as predators of mosquito larvae in salt marshes is well documented. Bats as a factor in mosquito control is not well documented, but no doubt a possibility. There is little doubt that dragon flies eat mosquitoes, both as immature stages in the water and as adults. However, insecticide sprays aimed at mosquitoes kill dragonflies—unintended results of mosquito control fogging. In the end, it is fair to ask, "Is it worth spending tax dollars to possibly get relief from a pest, possibly kill seed clams in nurseries and at the same time kill the mosquitoes' natural predators?" | 