With approaching warmer weather Nassau County will be sure to announce measures to be taken to reduce the mosquito breeding problems we face every year.
The usual solution of draining of birdbaths, emptying of water collectors such as used tires etc. will be broadcast and should be heeded, but a major contributor to this problem is Nassau County itself!
The county maintains the storm water runoff basins, which when originally created over 50 years ago, were used for short term storage of excess water until the basins “recharged” the water into the ground.
The basins were dry most of the time. That is until the bottoms became impermeable due to the decay of organic materials and silt from the runoff.
There is 0 perc in most of these basins and remediating the situation by dredging or drilling is prohibitively expensive and temporary.
The basin behind Tully Park in New Hyde Park is currently a “lake.”
It is a veritable breeding ground for large numbers of mosquitos including the disease bearing Culex species.
Each year the New Hyde Park local near this lake is subjected to aerial spraying of insecticides.
The CDC has found that spraying is wholly ineffective and may actually increase insecticide resistance in the insects. There is also the health issue to be considered with indiscriminate aerial spraying.
Larvaciding is effective but costly and there are environmental issues to be considered too.
There is a better way.
Fathead minnows especially their fry have been found to be effective in controlling mosquito larva populations.
These hardy minnows can survive high levels of pollution and are actually used as a barometer of levels of toxicity in waterways.
They can also survive in waters with low oxygen and higher temperatures as they are currently used in southern climates.
Furthermore, they are quite inexpensive and usually will spawn three times or more per season. The syate DEC should be able to approve the stocking of basins as there are no downstream waterways from basins.
Nassau County should definitely consider the advantages of a natural predator in combating mosquito populations
Mark Klein
New Hyde Park
