The massive number of mosquitos that plagued Wellfleet last summer should not be back again this summer.
That is according to Gabrielle Sakolsky, the superintendent of the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project.
The type of mosquitos that bloomed in Wellfleet last summer can live in brackish water. They will fly up to ten miles for a blood meal, Sakolsky said.
This makes them more aggressive than the mosquitos that come out of the lawn at dusk.
Sakolsky says her staff worked extra hours to clear access paths and small channels in the Duck Harbor area, part of the Cape Cod National Seashore.
That’s where stagnant water collected last summer after an "overwash" event. Then the mosquitos emerged.
“We put in a lot of work down there,” she said.
“And I have to say I’m feeling very optimistic about it. We have ditches open. Last week I saw fish running through those ditches and into different areas.”
The fish are important because they eat mosquito larvae.
Sakolsky has asked the Cape Cod National Seashore for permission to use larvicide if needed this spring.
The Seashore has not yet granted that request.
