Salt marshes are under threat due to overdevelopment, hardening of shorelines, dams, and other systems that interfere with natural hydrology. This degradation causes marsh plants to be drowned, creating standing pools of water and thereby increasing mosquito breeding habitat.
In addition to being a pest to humans, mosquitos carry and spread diseases impacting our health. Suffolk County Vector Control (SCVC) works to protect public health across all areas, including treating mosquitos through marsh restoration, chemical usage, and aerial larvicide applications in breeding areas to kill the mosquito larvae in the water.
The Accabonac Mosquito Sampling Program was launched in 2017 by The Nature Conservancy to help address these issues. Utilizing the Survey123 app, the data goes directly to SCVC. Original sites with the success are both Accabonac Harbor and Southampton Flounders, serving as perfect examples of ready-to-use foundations for the future.
Aims to recruit volunteers to actively map mosquitos in salt marshes for Suffolk County Vector Control to specifically treat mosquito hotspots.
This reduces time, effort, overall pesticide use, and increases clarity with the public on how these decisions are made.
