So far, the mosquitoes seem to be winning
11:08 PM 6/10/04
Sandy Cullen For the State Journal

Pam Tauscher should have seen it coming when mosquitoes started rising up from the Capitol lawn as she and her two young sons made their way to a picnic lunch. <

But they put down their blanket in the grass, where they have enjoyed many similar outings. <

A swarm of unwelcome intruders joined them for lunch, and Tauscher and her sons were the main course. <

"We were inundated with mosquitoes," said Tauscher, public information director for the Madison Public Health Department. "We were slapping and swatting." <

Her sons, John Coshun, 5, and Jacob Coshun, 2, delighted in the fact that they were finally able to swat each other in the head without getting in trouble. <

But for other Madison-area residents being eaten alive whenever they try to work in the garden or relax outdoors after a hard day's work, this year's onslaught is no laughing matter. <

Chuck Prellwitz, a farmer from Ripon, said the mosquitoes have been so bad they are disrupting his schedule. <

"We quit picking asparagus because we couldn't handle it anymore," Prellwitz said. "Usually you can go out in the middle of the day, but not this season. It doesn't even matter whether it's windy or sunny outside." <

After a couple of unusually light years for mosquitoes, the pesky predators are back in full force and there's no sign of relief in sight. <

"I get bit every time I go outside," said John Hausbeck, city environmental epidemiologist, who, Tauscher says, is "the guru of mosquitoes." <

Guru or not, Hausbeck said there's nothing he or anyone not named Mother Nature can do to get rid of the mosquitoes. Nor does he have a secret remedy to prevent the mosquitoes from making a "blood meal" out of you. <

"If I did, I could make a lot of money," Hausbeck said. <

May's record rainfall and flooding produced fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes. <

"The vast majority of mosquitoes out biting people right now are floodwater mosquitoes," Hausbeck said. "We have these big hatches. More rain means more mosquitoes; it's as simple as that." <

Last year's drought resulted in fewer mosquitoes, Hausbeck said. "Usually there are tons," he said. "This is not an abnormal thing." <

While chances are slim that the mosquitoes biting people carry the West Nile virus, Hausbeck said, active precautions should be taken to avoid being bitten. "There's no guarantee that a mosquito is not carrying the West Nile virus," he said. <

Mosquitoes that spread West Nile virus lay their eggs in stagnant ponds, birdbaths and water that collects in other places such as old tires, Hausbeck said, adding that these mosquitoes prefer to snack on birds - which carry the rarely fatal disease - to people. <

In Madison, the mosquito season runs through September. "There will be periods in there where you get a respite," Hausbeck said. <

While most mosquitoes are evening or dusk biters, Hausbeck said, don't think you can beat them by getting out early in the day. <

"Seven in the morning is not much different from seven in the evening," he said. Midday is normally the best time to avoid mosquitoes, but as Tauscher's experience illustrates, there are mosquitoes out all day. <

"There are 20-some species of mosquitoes in our area," Hausbeck said. A lot of them will lay eggs two times a year, he said, adding that it takes about two weeks for those mosquitoes to mature and set out in search of a blood meal so they can lay their own eggs. "That's why mosquitoes bite somebody and take their blood," Hausbeck said <

"That material is necessary for them to have the material to lay their eggs." Thus, only female mosquitoes bite. <

"Males," he said, "are good guys."