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Despite not hearing many complaints about mosquitoes in the county, Judge/Executive Logan Chick tells magistrates that if they hear of anyone in their districts that are experiencing an over population of mosquitoes to let him know and he will contact the Department of Agriculture about spraying.

The black fly problem that has plagued Logan County the past few years seems to have made it a little easier on the mosquito, as more attention is being paid to another bloodsucking pest as opposed to the mosquito.

The mosquitoes are a family of small, midge-like flies and although a few species are harmless or even useful to humanity, most are a nuisance because they consume blood from living vertebrates, including humans. In feeding on blood, various species of mosquitoes transmit some of the most harmful human and livestock diseases.

West Nile virus is one of the more serious diseases spread by mosquitoes. The condition ranges from mild to severe.

West Nile virus was first identified in 1937 in Uganda in eastern Africa. It was first discovered in the United States in the summer of 1999 in New York. Since then, the virus has spread throughout the United States.

The West Nile virus is a type of virus known as a flavivirus. Researchers believe West Nile virus is spread when a mosquito bites an infected bird and then bites a person.

Mosquitoes carry the highest amounts of virus in the early fall, which is why the rate of the disease increases in late August to early September. The risk of disease decreases as the weather becomes colder and mosquitoes die off.

Although many people are bitten by mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus, most do not know they’ve been exposed. Few people develop severe disease or even notice any symptoms at all.

Like all flies, mosquitoes go through four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult or imago. In most species, adult females lay their eggs in standing water; some lay eggs near the water’s edge; others attach their eggs to aquatic plants. Each species selects the situation of the water into which it lays its eggs and does so according to its own ecological adaptations.

Mosquitoes can even lay their eggs in old swimming pools, a child’s toy left outside that has collected water or even inside a spare tire.

If you feel you have an excessive amount of mosquitoes in your area, please contact your magistrate or Judge Chick’s office.