Mosquito question: Lake Ponchatrain is brackish water. I've never

[FloridaPat]

heard of mosquitos breeding in anything but fresh water. Or at least water without salt. Anyone know differently?

[ThomWV]

1. Salt Marsh Mosquitoes Will Eat You Alive

Check out the Everglades to see it for yourself.

[FloridaPat]

3. I've spent a lot of time down there. The Everglades are fresh water.

[Extend a Hand]

2. when I was little I lived in FL on the

Indian river which does have brackish water and mosquitoes would eat you alive if the trucks didn't spray regularly.

[FloridaPat]

4. But there are tons of fresh water in Florida near the salt water. That

doesn't mean they breed in the brackish water.

[Dogmudgeon]

Lake Ponchartrain skeeters are about 5 days from hatching

Black flies, I'd say are about 7-9 days away.

Unless another storm roars through the area, every mammal in the area is going to be easy meat for those bugs. They have the world's best breeding grounds now, between the standing water (for mosquitos) and the thousands of corpses (for flies).

--p!

[FloridaPat]

9. Gag. I forgot about flies. How terrible. That is a shame.

Doesn't Lake Ponchartrain have tides? It's not exactly standing water is it?

[ThomWV]

5. Go to Flamingo and come back and tell me about fresh water

[FloridaPat]

8. Been there. The bay is salt, the water on land is fresh. Aligators are

fresh water animals. The crocs are salt water. Where there are alligators, there is fresh water.

[cally]

6. I live near a salt water marsh

and we have very few mosquitoes. Before we moved here I checked and learned that they won't breed in saltwater.

[mike_c]

7. lots of mosquito species tolerate brackish water....

Some species are specialists in water with relatively high salt concentration.

[expatriate]

10. Yes, they breed in Lake Ponchartrain.

Also, New Orleans is surrounded by plenty of fresh water between the river, the swamps, to say nothing of standing fresh water from the rain dumped by Katrina.

Regular and continual mosquito abatement spraying is the only thing that keeps New Orleans relatively mosquito free (and relative is a very broad term here, plenty skeeters around).

Since Katrina, I'm sure that having the spray trucks go out has been the last thing that they've been able to do.

There are going to be lots of mosquitoes. From the Lake and everywhere else.

[pitohui]

11. they can use the planes

we get sprayed by plane in my area, if there is sufficient fuel & spray, maybe they can keep it up

there were already human cases of west nile (st. bernard parish) & one case of st. louis (metairie, jefferson parish) before the hurricane

i assume they'll try to stay on top of things if at all physically possible

[bribri16]

12. Plenty of mosquitos in NJ marsh..nothing but salt water. n/t

[slaveplanet]

13. Salt , fresh, Brackish

It matters not....The extensive oily film that covers NO 's standing water will severely impede mosquito reproduction.

There will still be more mosquito's than normal, as always occurs after heavy rains.

Cholera and Flies will be the concern.

My belief its there are far less bodies floating than the government and media are trying to portray....for whatever reason....if there were bodies floating the likes of what we saw in the Rwanda genocide...they would move heaven and earth to portray that and push the health emergency angle.

This water rose fairly slowly by flood standards....I suspect the most deaths came to those who were unable or unwilling to reach the attics or their roofs....I have yet to see a pic of the waters over rooftop level....the remainder coming from those who couldn't swim but tried anyway to make it to safety, and finally those who met with grievous bodily harm at the hands of others.

far less than they are trying to claim.

a bigger number gives them more power, and that is what they're after.

They will try to claim there are hundreds recovered from attics ....but they will provide no pics to back up that assertion.
many neighborhood leaders went around to rooftops and knocked for signs of life.

I do feel there will be many dehydration/starvations they will blame on drowning.