Due to the unusually wet spring that it has experienced this year, Cascade County is now facing a new problem: mosquitoes. The pestering insects have invaded the county after the increased moisture of the ground has made possible the hatching of mosquito eggs that were laid in the dust.
Scientists say that mosquito eggs can survive for several years until they meet the perfect conditions that permit the larvae to hatch out of them. But this type of mosquitoes, also known as the floodwater mosquito, is not the area’s biggest concern.
The standing water that was caused by the flooding can attract a more dangerous species of mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile disease, which is fatal to humans in some cases. This specie lays its eggs directly on standing water like pools, lakes or even buckets, and usually appears during summer.
Last year there have been 11 cases of people with West Nile disease in Cascade County, and one of them was fatal. People are instructed to take precautions, and do whatever they can to provide the dangerous specie with as fewer places to lay its eggs as possible. They were also told to treat the water in their swimming pools to prevent the mosquitoes from hatching in their back yard.
Authorities have already taken steps at monitoring standing water areas for the dangerous insects. Teams of state workers have been assigned the job to inspect standing water for larvae and eggs and to apply insecticides where it is needed.