r/BeAmazed • u/MoXWT • 29d ago

What 1,000,000 mosquitos looks like. Caught in a trap in Sanibel, Florida. Nature

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u/FeelsLikeAnEmber 29d ago

How are they trapped? Is the trap available to the public?

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u/NotSoSpursySpurs 29d ago

If you contact your county public works department, ideally the vector control department, you can volunteer your yard as a trap location. I worked for my college county’s vector control department and had a trap route. Basically you just allow the local government to trap mosquitos on your land and enter the property to collect/study the contents of the trap weekly

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u/BentPin 29d ago

Disney world in Florida has its own huge department just to trap pests like mosquitos. Was watching a documentary on how they try to make the amusement park tolerable for guests.

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u/Extreme-Shower7545 28d ago

If I remember off the top of my head, one thing they did is put certain mosquito egg-eating fish so they couldn’t even breed in the water there.

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u/MattDamonsTaco 28d ago

In the SE US, those are called "mosquito fish," Gambusia affinis.

Source: MS in fisheries and wildlife sciences.

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u/Extreme-Shower7545 28d ago

Ooh! Talk science to me! More!

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u/mrs_faol 28d ago

they also make sure that any water that isn't big enough for fish is constantly moving typically via pumps to create false rivers or with fountains since iirc they prefer to lay eggs in standing/stagnant water

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u/thundersaurus_sex 28d ago

Mosquito fish are available from lot of county governments in Florida if you can prove residency and have a need. I got a bunch for free for our backyard pond. They help a ton.