...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 105 expected. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Idaho and northeast and southeast Oregon. * WHEN...From 3 PM this afternoon to 9 PM MDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. &&
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Recent flooding along the Boise River and near Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge has created prime mosquito-hatching habitat.
The problem is forcing Canyon County officials to identify problem areas and combat exploding populations of mosquito larvae using larvae-killing bacteria.
“We are seeing extremely high concentrated numbers of mosquito larvae, and as the temperatures warm up, the mosquito larvae found in many of the flooded areas around the county may turn into swarms of biting adult mosquitoes,” said Ed Burnett, director of the Canyon County Mosquito Abatement District.
He said the Mosquito Abatement District has taken field samples at areas with historically high larval populations. Those areas will be sprayed via plane with the bacteria bacillus theragnosis israelensis.
First discovered in Israel in 1976, the bacteria works when introduced to a body of water and ingested by mosquito larvae, which are filter feeders. Spores in the bacteria contain toxins that damage cells in the digestive systems of the larvae, killing them in the process.
The Environmental Protection Agency states on its website that the bacteria has been approved for pest control in organic farming and that it does not pose a risk to humans, animals, crops, water supplies or other flying insects, such as honey bees.
Burnett said that although the mosquitoes hatching now are very aggressive and swarm in large numbers, the flying insects aren’t of the three species in Idaho that carry disease.
“(The bacteria) is not stopping the hatching of mosquito larvae, which fortunately are not carriers of diseases such as the West Nile virus,” he said. “West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes become active when the air temperatures reach the 90s.”
Certain species of mosquito can lay eggs in soil with the plan that the eggs will be saturated with floodwater the following season and will eventually hatch, Burnett said. Those eggs remain viable for up to seven years, he said, and many that haven’t been touched by water for many years have now been reactivated by flooding.
“I started this job in 2005, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
Burnett said that the county sprayed about 400 acres of larvae-infested water near Lake Lowell last week and that it plans to treat the Boise River this week.
“Weather pending, we will be spraying both sides of the Boise River on Wednesday from Middleton to Caldwell,” Burnett said. “We will concentrate on areas with high larval counts, near houses and subdivisions.”
Burnett said temperatures have risen to about 60 degrees in shallow, still standing water, warm enough for mosquito larvae to begin to hatch.
Ryan Thorne is the cops/courts and digital first reporter. Follow him on Twitter @ryanthorne86.
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