About Us
About Us
Monroe County has a sub-tropical environment and is home to approximately 45 species of mosquitoes.
The goal of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Districtis is to control the mosquito population using the most effective methods, techniques, equipment, and insecticides, thus enhancing the quality of life for all residents, reducing the possibility of mosquito transmitted disease.
County residents are encouraged to contact the Florida Keys Mosquito Control if they are experiencing mosquito nuisance.
Although there are 40+ mosquito species found in the Keys, only a few create sufficient problems that require control measures. The Salt Marsh mosquito, the Pasture Mosquito, the Domestic Mosquito, the Tiger Mosquito and the House Mosquito are commonly found, and create annoyance by their bite. In addition to their annoyance, mosquitoes can also transmit diseases such as Dengue Fever, Encephalitis, Malaria, and dog heartworm.
Our History
Florida was not always the top tourist destination in the United States. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that Florida was considered a horrible place to live and visit. One the main reasons behind this historical thought was the presence of mosquitoes. Florida has a wide variety of mosquito species that all have their own particular niche and habitat.
Florida has more than 1,200 miles of coastline, a warm subtropical climate and rich fauna encouraged by periods of heavy rainfall. This particular setting gives rise to the 77 species of mosquito statewide. Of those 77 species, 45 of them are found in the Florida Keys. The mosquito itself impeded the development of Florida, which was thought to be unbearable to live in as little as 100 years ago. A U.S. Congressman even said the State could not be developed.
The mosquito was such a major pest that when the Spaniards first arrived, they named what is now the Ponce de Leon Inlet, Barro de Mosquitoes. In the 18th Century, the portion of Florida between St. Johns River and the coastal lagoons north of Cape Canaveral was called Mosquito Country. In 1824 Mosquito Country was made into Mosquito County and included a large portion of peninsular Florida. Today, the county is known as Orange County and is home to some major attractions in and around Orlando.
Pestilent summers are not new phenomena to Florida. For years, women were seen wrapping their legs with newspaper and then putting on stockings to inhibit the mosquitoes from biting their legs. Soldiers in the Confederate Army had to light small smudge fires in their tents and crawl inside of them on their hands and knees keeping their faces close to the ground. They also had to be careful not to let their faces or hands touch the sides of the tent for the mosquitoes would thrust their proboscis through the canvas and bite them. Soldiers had to wear woolen gloves to protect their hands and thin hoops covered with mosquito netting over their head and neck while on duty. Livestock have even been bled to death by waves of the unrelenting mosquitoes.
By the mid 1800s Northern Florida was settled, but still a very unpleasant place to live. It suffered from disease, hardship and poverty. The major cities of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Pensacola and Tallahassee were known as the malaria belt. Each summer brought deadly fevers to this region and those who could afford to migrate north did so. Those who could not afford to leave stayed behind and endured pestilent summers and many died. One of the worst sieges of disease was the yellow fever epidemic in 1877 in Jacksonville and Fernandina Beach. Out of a population of 1,632 people 1,146 persons were ill with fever and 24 died. In 1887 epidemics also broke out in Key West, Tampa, Plant City and Manatee.
Of the 77 species in Florida, several of them are pestiferous biters of man, livestock and are potential vectors of disease. The diseases they can carry are malaria, yellow fever, dengue, encephalitis, West Nile virus and Dog Heartworm. Malaria, yellow fever and dengue have been eradicated from Florida but St. Louis encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus and Dog Heartworm are still apparent statewide. The control of yellow fever, dengue and their vector Anopheles quadrimaculatus was accomplished by elimination of breeding sources through construction of drainage ditches and canals. By 1948 malaria was eradicated from the state.
The success of early programs, which eliminated these 3 diseases gave rise to Mosquito Control programs across the state. In 1919, the first Mosquito Control efforts were established in Perry, Florida. By 1922, the formation of the Florida Anti-Mosquito Association was established by Dr. J.Y. Porter, the states first health officer. Many new Mosquito Control Districts were formed in the years to follow and by 1975, 52 Mosquito Control Districts were in place and fully operational.