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Public health traps mosquitoes, prevents disease

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is home to many forms of protectors.

The 87th Security Forces Squadron secures the gates and patrols the streets. The 87th Communications Squadron protects the network against cyber attacks. The antiterrorism office helps maintain a level of preparedness. The list goes on and on.

A group of Airmen protect the joint base populous from another type of attacker: virus-carrying mosquitoes. The 87th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health Flight technicians set traps weekly across the joint base to gather a sample amount to be tested for various diseases and viruses. The traps are set May through October, when mosquito activity is at its highest.

New Jersey Mosquito Control saw an above-average population of mosquitoes in the local area. The numbers are projected to be even higher this year because Hurricane Sandy has created new places for mosquitoes to breed such as wet debris piles and depressions left by fallen trees.

"Our goal is not to trap all the mosquitoes on base," said Airman 1st Class Jacqueline Douglas, 87th AMDS Public Health Flight technician. "We just need to get a sample amount so we can get them tested for harmful viruses or diseases."

Female mosquitoes are the desired catches because they are the only ones who feed on blood and lay eggs.

The Airmen set up 12 traps across the base, geographically separated to yield the most diverse sample batch. The flight employs two different types of traps to catch the flying nuisance: Gravid traps and N.J. light traps. Gravid traps use a substance called "stink water," a yeasty water substance which attracts female mosquitoes who wish to lay eggs.

 Female mosquitoes are also attracted to carbon dioxide. The N.J. light traps take advantage of this by using dry ice to release carbon dioxide.

"We set up the different types of traps where they will be most effective," said Douglas. "For instance, you wouldn't want to set up a gravid trap where there is already a lot of standing water."

The trap samples are collected after being out for around 24 hours. Technicians then send the samples to a lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for testing. The flight typically gets the results back in a little more than a week.

"Mosquitoes are a nuisance and if left unchecked, they could become an even bigger problem," said Master Sgt. Thomas Wigington, 87th AMDS community health element noncommissioned officer in charge. "The best way families can stay safe is using insect repellent with a high DEET content."

Mosquito control is important because the pesky bugs carry diseases, including the potentially deadly, West Nile virus.

Last season yielded 30 positive samples of West Nile virus in Burlington County, as well as one positive here on JB MDL. A total of five individuals died in New Jersey due to the West Nile Virus said Staff Sgt. Brian Wiese, 87th AMDS food safety and sanitation NCOIC.

While the majority of people who contract West Nile virus will have no symptoms to very mild flu-like symptoms, the disease can lead to paralysis, coma and death in fewer than one percent of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control West Nile Virus homepage.

The following are tips everyone can use to lessen the local mosquito population:

- Empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels and cans at least one or twice a week

- Check for clogged rain gutters and clean them out

- Remove discarded tires and other items that could collect water

- Be sure to check for containers or trash in places that may be hard to see, such as under bushes

- Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers

- Drill holes in the bottom and elevate recycling containers that are left outdoors

- Turn over plastic wading pools when not in use

- Turn over wheelbarrows and do not allow water to stagnate in bird baths

- Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate

- Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, including those that are not being used. A swimming pool that is left untended can produce enough mosquitoes to result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Be aware mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on pool covers

- Repair and maintain barriers, such as window and screens, to prevent mosquitoes from entering buildings. Barriers over rain barrels or cistern and septic pipes will deny female mosquitoes the opportunity to lay eggs on water

"Trapping these mosquitoes is important to the people who live, work and train here," said Douglas. "People still need to take precautions, but these traps are the best way to catch a problem before it gets worse."