Lee busy fighting mosquitoes, Collier not as much

Feeling the sting of mosquito season? You're not alone. 

Mosquito control districts in Lee and Collier county are spraying for adult blood suckers after a wet start to the rainy season and seasonally high tides. 

"We’re busy," said Eric Jackson, with Lee County Mosquito Control District. "It’s nonstop. It hasn’t really let up at all since those first high tides in May. We’ve been getting more service requests, and we do count on the public to let us know if they’re seeing more than normal amounts of mosquitoes in their area." 

The rainy season started on May 15, and rains that fell over the last two weeks of the month were enough to make it the wettest May on record. 

While Lee and Collier, on average, are about an inch-and-a-half below average for this point in June, some areas have seen significant precipitation. 

"We had quite a bit of rain along I-75, really from the Alico (Road) area all the way up to the (Caloosahatchee) river," Jackson said. "We treated that area on Saturday with a couple of planes." 

More:Collier County's mosquito population low compared to last year

Jackson said the district treated areas around Corkscrew Road on Friday night. 

Coastal areas are seeing mosquitoes as well. 

"On the islands, they’re starting to grow again," Jackson said. "Salt marsh mosquitoes need to lay their eggs on dry land, and we saw a little bit of a break of rain and that allowed mosquitoes to lay their eggs. And now their hatching."

More:High tides, heavy rains kick off mosquito season in Collier, Lee

But Collier is not seeing high numbers of salt marsh mosquitoes, at least not as many salt marsh mosquitoes as in 2017.

"Last year at this time we were seeing a salt marsh mosquito inundation," said Robin King, with Collier County Mosquito Control. "This spring we can’t find any. It’s a really strange natural event. We can only speculate that the water from (Hurricane) Irma may have flushed some of those eggs out of the mangroves." 

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Collier County on Sept. 10, bringing high winds and storm surge to the natural areas King described. 

More:Florida agency accuses Collier Mosquito Control of spraying violations

"What we are seeing now is pockets of freshwater species," King said. "We treated Ava Maria and Immokalee and we just did Naples Shores (Monday night), so tonight (Tuesday) we’re getting out to the Golden Gate Estates area because we’re seeing pockets of mosquitoes, and lots of them. It’s not widespread but there are enough pockets that it’s starting to be a problem and the numbers are creeping up."

Regular seasonal rains won't stop until sometime in October. 

Forecasts from the National Weather Service show a 10 to 40 percent chance of rain through the rest of this week. 

Researchers:Pythons changed mosquito's diet in Everglades

The rainy season has just started, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling for above-average rain for Southwest Florida between now and November. 

Mosquitoes will likely be part of the Southwest Florida landscape for the next four or five months. 

"We’ve had trucks out pretty much every night in neighborhoods throughout the county," Jackson said. 

Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Twitter. 

More:Summer is here, and that means mosquitoes — here are some plants that help repel them