KELLY FARRELL / Staff

A dragonfly in a roadside ditch near Elkcam Circle finds a feeding ground of mosquitoes in the standing water left from Tropical Storm Fay.

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MARCO ISLAND — While incidents of mold may be on the rise on Marco Island since Tropical Storm Fay, mosquito counters say Marco, Isles Capri and Goodland may have actually received some relief from the needle-nosed, winged pests.

Islanders are likely to notice an increase in mosquitoes where standing water remains after the rains brought on by Fay, however overall mosquito counts in the Marco Island area are down.

About one week since Fay first made landfall near Cape Romano, standing water remains along South Collier Boulevard and East Elkcam Circle, said Public Works Director Rony Joel.

While the dirty, water-filled roadside ditches are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, island residents say the mosquitoes aren’t too bad.

“It was actually worse before the storm. We saw swarms of dragonflies before the storm, but since the storm is gone, we haven’t really seen that many,” said Jean Lee of Breakfast Plus near Elkcam Circle.

While the mosquitoes themselves may be difficult to see in the standing water, predators, such as bats and the brightly colored dragonflies are tell-tale signs of the mosquitoes existence.

Collier County Mosquito Control officials said Marco Island, Goodland and Isles Capri are usually among the areas in the county with the most mosquitoes. However, mosquito counts are down on Marco Island and much higher in the Golden Gate area since the storm, said Adrian Salinas, public information officer for the Collier Mosquito Control District.

“Maybe the winds purged the area,” Salinas said.

Islanders can be somewhat relieved not only about the number of mosquitoes on island, but also the species.

Salinas said mosquito control observes about 40 species of mosquitoes but is most concerned about four of them. The most common mosquito on Marco Island is the Black Salt Marsh mosquito, he said.

“These are the major nuisance because we have so many,” Salinas added.

The good news is that the Black Salt Marsh mosquito does not spread disease to humans, however they can carry the parasite that will give a dog heart worm, he explained.

Another unfortunate aspect of these mosquitoes, they don’t follow the rule of only coming out during the twilight hours of dusk and dawn like many other mosquito varieties.

The other major mosquito nuisance on island, Psorophora columbiae is among the freshwater mosquito breeds, he said.

“It’s just terrible right now with all the rain and flood waters. They just love the nasty storm water. People are screaming,” Salinas exclaimed.

This variety also does not carry human diseases and is not known to give dogs heart worm, he said.

The other two varieties of mosquitoes can carry either the West Nile virus or Malaria, but Mosquito Control is not seeing many of these and diseases have been reported in the county, he said.

Salina said that chickens are tested for the antibodies of the West Nile virus and if reported, the “hot chickens” are a sign that mosquitoes are carrying the virus.

“There is an urban myth that Collier Mosquito Control rears dragonflies and drops them off in Marco Island to eat your mosquitoes. We don’t do that,” Salina said.

Instead, mosquito control flies helicopters and planes spraying the chemical Deet between about 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. in the areas which have recently had the highest counts of mosquitoes.

Mosquito counts are taken by two methods, landing rate and New Jersey Light Trap counts. Every day officials go out and count how many mosquitoes land on them within a two-minute period. This is the landing rate.

Also daily, about 50 New Jersey light traps are collected throughout the county and the number and variety of mosquitoes found in the traps are recorded. One such trap is located at Tigertail Beach.

Salinas said counting the mosquitoes which land on a person within two minutes appears to be more accurate for counting Marco Island’s common Black Salt Marsh Mosquito.

Increase in mold

While the mosquitoes are down somewhat since the storm, mold seems to have risen dramatically according to island mold removal contractors.

“We were pretty slow before the storm. Within three days of the storm, business at least doubled our work load,” said ServPro’s marketing manager Shannon O’Neill.

She said the most common mold occurrences on Marco Island have been around sliding glass doors. Other areas leading to mold include leaks around windows, cracks in exterior stucco and water coming up through the foundation, she said.

“Most of the time, if people are there, they will see the growth. The problem is when the place is closed up and nobody knows,” O’Neill said.

Most of the mold is not severely dangerous to one’s health, she added.

“Sometimes people will just say they don’t feel well, but don’t know why. Most of the time it’s allergy signs of watery eyes, runny nose or itchy skin,” O’Neill said.

If water damage is suspected but mold not easily seen, mold removal contractors said there are several methods used to detect the presence of mold.

Infrared cameras are often used to detect temperature changes in a large area. Once cold spots are revealed, those areas will be tested again with moisture meters to determine if water is the reason for the temperature change.

While the water damage or mold infested areas are cleaned or replaced, a five-foot tall machine called an Air Scrubber is used to clean the air, according to ServPro officials.

“Just by walking by a small area of mold, 150,000 spores are released into the air,” said Tim Kelley, manager of ServPro.

The large machine vacuums in the air and filters it to a much finer level than the typical home air purifier, Kelley said.

ServPro alone has serviced nearly 100 residences including two large condominium complexes on island since Fay.