Mosquito Habitat

Mosquito control biologists use a technique called open marsh water management, illustrated in the photo above. Selectively applying these techniques results in the elimination of salt marsh mosquito breeding sites, a reduction in the use of pesticides, and enhancement of the tidal food chain.

Mosquitoes are an opportunistic container breeder and utilize artificial as well as natural container habitats. Cavities in a wide variety of tree species serve as primary habitat for some species in forested areas. Mosquitoes also lay eggs in an array of artificial containers ranging from buckets, cans and barrels to discarded tires which represent a common larval habitat in New Jersey.

Tires in open areas contain fewer specimens than tires that are located in shade. Tire piles in forested habitats produce tremendous numbers of Aedes triseriatus, together with lesser numbers of associate treehole species.

Water management techniques are another method of control used by the county. The mosquito source or body of water is altered in such a way that it is made unsuitable for mosquitoes to complete their life cycle or provides habitat for mosquito predacious organisms. In general, water management is considered the desired mosquito control alternative because it is more permanent and less expensive than pesticides and results in the reduced use of pesticides. In some cases, water management helps restore or improve an already degraded wetland.

Gambusia, The Mosquito Fish

The Atlantic County Mosquito Control Unit has released 10,000 mosquito fish to mosquito breeding areas throughout the county as part of its integrated effort to control the county's mosquito population and reduce the spread of mosquito borne viruses such as West Nile virus.

The mosquito fish were acquired from the state fish hatchery in Hackettstown for release into the area's permanent water breeding sites to help prevent mosquitoes from completing their life cycle. This biological control method eliminates mosquitoes in their larval stage thereby reducing the need for subsequent pesticide treatment.

Gambusia use in an area is dependent upon sufficient water levels existing for the fish to survive and access any larval mosquitoes present. Although an eventual drydown may eliminate the fish from an area, the area should be considered for stocking if a few months larval control can be achieved.

Gambusia are more effective in some situations than others. They generally work quite well in unused swimming pools, abandoned sewage lagoons, mine pits and permanently flooded stormwater facilities. Other larval habitats do not consistently provide a suitable site for Gambusia stocking but at times exhibit the proper characteristics that enable stocking to occur. These sites include freshwater swamps, ditches and woodland pools.

Drydown is the primary cause of fish loss in an area. Consequently, low fish density is the reason many larval mosquito populations are insufficiently controlled by Gambusia. Anopheles spp. mosquitoes are particularly hard for mosquitofish to control when emergent vegetation provides them harborage.