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Mosquitoes will bite eventually They're just waiting to get warm CHRIS BRISTOL Has the up-and-down weather this spring really got under your skin? At least it bugs the bugs, too. For the second year in a row -- thanks to cool temperatures and overcast skies more characteristic of April than May -- the mobs of mosquitoes that usually descend on the Rogue Valley this time of year have been virtually nonexistent. "It's been cool and rainy," explained Eugene Papineau of Jackson County Vector Control. "We really haven't seen them around bothering people yet." The key word here is "yet." Just because the little blood-suckers don't care for the weather right now doesn't mean they packed their tiny bug bags and went home. Home is here -- in puddles and pastures -- and eventually the weather will change to their liking. In other words, don't get your hopes up, Papineau said. "It will get busy once we get warmer weather," he said. "When temperatures hit 80 plus, they'll be real mad and real hungry." So far this month, Vector Control has received just 34 complaints about mosquitoes, compared to 178 calls for help a year ago. Two years ago the district received 980 calls. But Papineau and his crews aren't sitting around glum-faced like TV's Maytag repairmen. They're constantly on the lookout for larval sources, checking and spraying ditches, trees with so-called rot cavities and irrigated pastures -- anywhere mosquitoes like to breed. The reason is simple: despite relatively few complaints last May, the warmer weather in June of 1998 rebounded with more than 900 calls for help. "Our goal is to get rid of them in the water, because they're more contained," he said. "For obvious reasons, once they're flying they're more difficult to control." Anybody who's lived in the area for more than two years should know that mosquitoes are hardly a new phenomenon in Jackson County. The Rogue Valley has more than two dozen species, with the two worst offenders being the tree-hole variety and its country cousin, the pasture mosquito. The western tree-hole (scientific name Aedes sierrensis) likes to breed in rain-filled tires and damp nooks and crooks of hardwood trees, mostly oak and madrone. It is known to carry larvae that infect dogs with heartworm. Pasture mosquitoes thrive in irrigated fields, breeding in water that collects in low-lying areas when farmers and ranchers flood the property. They especially like depressions made in the ground by hooves. In just three or four days, mosquitoes can transform from gravity-bound grub to aerial attackers. They can fly up to half a mile a day and more than 20 miles in their short lifetime. Grass looks all the same to them, whether it's another pasture or somebody's back yard. "They fly through a housing development, land on the lawn and start biting," Papineau said. "Out we come with the areosol trucks." According to Papineau, changes in daylight rather than temperature are what causes mosquitoes to pupate into adulthood. Still, cool and rainy conditions tend to put a damper on activity. The same goes for people, so contact remains minimal. "They're there, they're just not being very active," he said. All that should change next month. The high point of the season is July and August (same as us), with pasture mosquitoes causing the most trouble into September. Until the weather changes for the better, Papineau and his crews will prepare for the worst. "We don't predict the weather, but June is always big," he said. "If it isn't, you'll wish it was." Clean out water pockets now It's mosquito season again, but poor weather means you still have a chance to reduce the hordes to come. With few exceptions, mosquitoes lay eggs in stagnant water. Old tires, clogged gutters, buckets, the wading pool in your back yard -- anything that's been collecting water over the winter should be emptied out now. Trees are another problem, especially hardwoods like oak and madrones. Filling tree cavities with decomposed granite or sand can remove other breeding grounds. Pack tight to avoid puddles. Jackson County Vector Control will spray homes on a first-come, first-served basis. Neighborhoods that band together get best results. If you have a pond or water fountains that can't be simply dumped out, Vector Control gives out tiny mosquito-eating fish for free. They generally coexist peacefully with goldfish and koi, but carp and trout tend to gulp `em down. For more advice on how to reduce your mosquito problems, or to request a visit from the spray truck, call Jackson County Vector Control at 826-2199 or 779-6460. The district office is at 555 Mosquito Lane, near the intersection of Table Rock and Antelope roads in the White City area. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA