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Fight The Bite 

The Mosquito Control Program’s 25 employees provide mosquito control services in Charleston County’s 1,353 square miles using several diverse methods:

1. Surveillance—The helicopter inspection team, seven field inspectors and Rural Citizens’ Network monitor rainfall, tides and mosquito populations on a daily basis throughout the County. Citizens, via telephone, also inform the division of unusually high mosquito population levels.

2. Aquatic Stage Mosquitoes (Larvae)—Utilize a ground crew, a helicopter and an airplane to eliminate aquatic stage mosquitoes in areas of standing water, such as yards and drainage ditches. The ground crew also introduces small predatory fish into semi-permanent standing water areas. Over 54,000 acres were treated in 2003.

3. Adult Mosquitoes—Use truck-mounted spray units, a helicopter and an airplane to kill adult mosquitoes. In 2003, a total of 575,435 acres were treated.

4. Source Reduction—The Rolligon® Amphibious Tractor/Ditcher digs drainage ditches on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dredged material disposal sites. Some of these sites are hundreds of acres in size. The ditches help to move the water thereby eliminating the source of the mosquito breeding from the sites. In 2003, excavation of ditches totaled 154,700 linear feet.

• 50+ species of mosquitoes live in Charleston County
• 30 of these species bite people and pets
• The two salt marsh species occur in the greatest numbers
• Breeding potential -
  - Dredged material disposal sites can produce up to 80 million mosquitoes per acre    per rainfall
  - Natural sites can produce up to 8 million mosquitoes per acre per rainfall or tide event