Buzz about mosquitoes

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Gary Goode works on a tiny scale in his Palm Beach County Mosquito Control laboratory.  He sorts through the county's 35 species of bloodsuckers, and each of them is different: some feed during the day, some at night, and some carry disease.

Goode and his team check traps every week to watch the various populations. They are set in what he calls "concourses" of activity.

"Nigripalpus is a sneaky biter, so it can get in there and bite you and transmit the disease and you don't even know it's there.  You don't  even scratch," he said.

Goode says the "disease vectors" have increased this week, likely due to wet weather. In his traps he is also finding a breed that is more painful, but doesn't carry disease.

"That's a salt marsh mosquito. Son of a gun. Where the heck are these guys coming from?"

Goode believes the species blew in on wind from the Keys and his team can spray for them in the days to come. Other breeds can't be stopped through spray, like breeds that carry disease and thrive in standing water. As small as a thimbleful is enough for a breeding ground.

"If you have mosquitoes around your house, and they are biting during the day, we can just about count on it being a container mosquito," he said.

The best way to avoid such mosquitoes is to remove standing water from your property, according to Palm Beach County Mosquito Control.