No spraying for Zika in the Everglades, park supervisor tells Naples audience
No Zika-carrying mosquitoes have been found
Although hordes of mosquitoes populate swampy Everglades National Park, no spraying against the dreaded Zika virus is being done there, the park’s supervisor said Wednesday.
Addressing a breakfast meeting of Wake Up Naples, a monthly event of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce at the Naples Hilton, Pedro Ramos said Wednesday he’s not aware of any Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the park.
“They do not like wild places,” said Ramos, who supervises Everglades National Park and the Dry Tortugas National Park. “They’re more urban mosquitoes.”
Durland Fish, professor emeritus at Yale School of Medicine, confirmed Ramos’ statement,
Fish said he and his team have collected more than 400,000 mosquitoes in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Fakahatchee Strand State Park Preserve and Picayune State Forest and found no Aedes aegyptii among the 30 mosquito species identified.
“I would not expect this species to occur in natural areas because it is dependent upon man-made water-holding containers for larval development and it feeds upon humans rather than wildlife as an adult,” he said in an email.
But a map by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the range of the Aedes aegyptii mosquito, which carries the virus, covers all of Florida — although it also specifies the map does not pinpoint the locations or numbers of mosquitoes in an area or the likelihood these mosquitoes will spread viruses.
Ramos said there are traps monitoring the types of mosquitoes in the park and that if Zika-carrying bugs were captured, he would consider spraying.
“But spraying is not something we do lightly,” Ramos said. “We have to consider the impact on the resources we have to protect.”
Currently, spraying is handled by Florida’s 61 mosquito-control programs, including districts in Collier and Lee counties.
Click here to see Collier Mosquito Control District map »
Ramos also said park employees have been advised to wear repellents and to take other measures to prevent the bugs’ bites.
The CDC says that since there is no vaccine to prevent or treat Zika, which can cause babies to be born with small heads and neurological damage, anyone outdoors should wear long-sleeved pants and shirts and use repellents.
Consumer Reports, which tests products, found that the most effective repellents against Aedes mosquitoes were those with at least 20 percent picaridin or 25 percent deet. Plant oil products, as well as chemicals called IR3535 and 2-undecanone, were considered ineffective, though repellent with 30 percent oil of lemon eucalyptus kept the bugs away for seven hours.
Ramos encouraged visitors to visit the Everglades, which he noted is a World Heritage Site that is “something that we can be proud of as a nation.”
He said the park was the second most visited attraction in the state after Disney World.
“But we don’t need to compete with Disney — we have the real thing,” he said.
He also pointed out that it is an economic driver of the region, employing 300 small businesses in the park and many others outside it.
But challenges to the park remain, he said.
Traditional water flows need to be restored from Lake Okeechobee and the effects of rising sea levels mitigated, he said. He noted a 2.6-mile bridge under construction along U.S. 41 will help restore natural water flows and improve views of the iconic river of grass.
Invasive plants and animals, such as the python, also must be controlled, and accessibility and infrastructure need to be improved, he said.
In particular, Flamingo, the southernmost town in the Everglades, which Ramos described as a ghost town, needs to be revived with new lodgings and a restaurant, Ramos said.
He invited local businesses who could rebuild the lost town to apply for the multimillion dollar project.
He pointed out that other national parks like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone have impressive facilities that help draw visitors from all over the world.
And once visitors see these parks, they are more motivated to protect them, he explained.