From The Blog

While Mosquito-borne Illness Risk Is Low, KICA’s Adaptive Strategy Keeps Mosquito Population in Check

Like West Nile Virus (2023) and Zika (2016) before it, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has entered the news cycle over the last few weeks. KICA’s biologists are following the news closely, but, as biologist and Lakes Supervisor Matt Hill notes, “there is no more heightened threat of mosquito-borne diseases this year compared to any other year.” In any year, the EEE virus is incredibly rare in humans; an average of 11 human cases of eastern equine encephalitis are reported annually in the US. In 2024, the US has had a total of eight cases in five states, primarily in the north or northeast.

A key piece in keeping mosquito-borne illness low is keeping the mosquito population in check. KICA’s mosquito abatement strategy includes a foundation of key preventative measures supplemented by customized treatments when and where they are needed. This strategy has served the association well even in years when mosquito-borne illness risk was elevated, as it was in 2023 and 2016.

The strategy includes:

• Twice annual larvacide: long-term, 150-day larvicide tablets in the island’s storm drains twice per year (in March and August).
• • As-needed treatment of wet areas after heavy rains using a short-term 30-day tablet. The Lakes team applied this treatment after Tropical Storm Debby.
• Weekly ground spraying adulticide: April through October, the Lakes team monitors mosquito counts in each of the island’s 30 zones; when counts show that mosquito activity is high, the zone is sprayed with a mist of adulticide from a truck-mounted sprayer. This sprayer is effective over a 300-foot swath, reaching most of the island’s inhabited areas.
• As-needed ground-based adulticide and aerial larvicide applications via Charleston County Mosquito Control: when mosquito counts become high or are high island-wide (such as following a tropical system), KICA’s Lakes team can supplemental adulticide treatments to be conducted by trucks, and larviciding by helicopter and plane. This application can treat isolated breeding grounds that KICA’s truck-mounted sprayer can’t.

You can also protect yourself by using bug spray, emptying standing water in containers, and avoiding the times (dawn and dusk) and places (marshes and swamps) where mosquitoes are most active. According to the CDC, the rarity of this virus is “largely because the primary transmission cycle takes place in and around swampy areas where people are less likely to go.”

Because KICA’s team of experts are on the island every weekday , they monitor conditions and can promptly respond. If you have a question or concern, contact KICA’s Lakes Management team at [email protected].