As inclement weather is set to continue, the Mosquito Research and Control Unit has announced that it expects a significant increase in mosquito numbers by week’s end.
MRCU, in a statement Wednesday, said the unit had only concluded their annual pre-hatch treatment last month, and a large emergence of mosquitoes is still expected over the coming days.
The annual larvicide application, which takes place before the start of the first major rain of the year, is a preventative control method, killing the mosquito larvae before they can develop to “biting adults looking for a blood meal”.
MRCU Director Alan Wheeler said the team at the unit was able to treat 8,900 acres with larvicide in advance of the onset of the rainy season, and a further 5,950 acres once the rain starts.
This, he said, was “the largest pre-season larvicide treatment ever conducted by the MRCU”.
Adult mosquitoes expected to emerge
However, he said, despite these intensive control efforts, “and in light of the rain that we have been experiencing, we are expecting that adult mosquitoes will be emerging over the coming days”.
Wheeler said although biting rates are expected to be high, the MRCU is confident that its team “will be able to bring the mosquito numbers down to normal levels before the end of next week”.
In mid-April, the king tides and accompanying flooding led to an explosion of mosquitoes.
That, coupled with the halt of spraying operations due to unavailability of the MRCU aircraft and pilot, added to the surge of biting mosquitoes.
Wheeler, speaking on the Cayman Compass weekly talkshow ‘The Resh Hour’ on 10 May, said while he and his team were doing the best they could with the resources at their disposal, there is an urgent need for a second pilot to help get the mosquito problem under control.
The public can contact the MRCU on 949-2557 for more information or to file a mosquito-related complaint.
Rainy weather set to continue
The National Weather Service, in its forecast Wednesday, said that over the next 24 hours light winds and slight seas are expected to continue across the Cayman Islands due to a weak pressure gradient across the northwest Caribbean.
“The continuation of overcast conditions and shower activity is expected over the next few days, as an area of disorganized showers drifts across the western Caribbean. Radar images show isolated showers in and around the Cayman Islands moving towards the northeast,” NWS meteorologist Gilbert Miller said in his afternoon forecast.
Cloudy-to-overcast skies are expected overnight with a 60% chance of showers and thunder.
“Showers may become locally heavy at times leading to flooding of low lying areas. Temperatures will fall to the upper 70’s °F. Winds will be light and variable. Seas will be slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet,” Miller stated, adding that cloudy skies with a 40% chance of showers and some thunder is expected Thursday.
“Showers may become locally heavy at times leading to flooding of low lying areas. Temperatures will rise to the upper 80’s °F. Winds will be southeast at 5 to 10 knots. Seas will be moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet,” Miller added.
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