To the Editors:
I have visited and lived in the Florida Keys since 1955 and have seen many changes; some good and some not so good. One of the incredibly positive changes is the huge reduction of mosquitoes and their diseases because of our mosquito control programs. I have witnessed the transition from a ragtag organization of the 1950s and ’60s to one of the most professionally run and effective government agencies we have in Monroe County, and they have kept us safe. With all the recent discussions in Tallahassee about changes to property taxes, I believe mosquito control must continue to be funded as a critical service.
In the early days, the mosquitoes were so bad that you had to scrape them from your body before going inside. One could look down the street and see the black clouds of mosquitoes. Everyone went about swatting and displaying many red splotches on their face, arms and legs and we were always concerned about getting sick from their terrible diseases. The Keys were not an attractive place to either live or visit. To justify living here then, people were always saying, “We have to remember where we live,” or “We chose to live near the Everglades,” or “It’s the price you pay for living in paradise.” Regardless of the rhetoric, the mosquitoes were very bad and often unbearable. Very few residents of the Keys today were here then to fully understand just how bad.
Today, it is quite different. There are still mosquitoes, but very few by comparison and life is pretty darn good. Many of us would prefer zero mosquitoes, but with all the government-protected land in the Keys, each with its own regulations designed to protect the many endangered species of insects, rats, bees and butterflies, it will never happen.
I live in the Upper Keys, where the protected lands account for most of the total land mass. These state parks, botanical gardens and wildlife preserves are mostly off limits for any type of mosquito control measures. This is part of protecting our environment, which most of us really appreciate, but it increases the number of mosquitoes in our community.
A major source of mosquitoes in the Keys is the Florida Everglades. I spend a lot of time in the Everglades and at times, the mosquito swarms there remind me of the way the Keys used to be. Today, when the winds are unfavorable, swarms of mosquitoes are blown into the Middle and Upper Keys. Mosquito controllers send out their aircraft and trucks, and the numbers of mosquitoes are reduced significantly. This process is never-ending, and it is complicated by regulatory constraints as well as adverse weather conditions.
I appreciate the dedicated people of mosquito control who come onto our properties, our salt marshes, our offshore islands, etc., take the samples they need, make helpful recommendations and improve our comfort and safety in each neighborhood. It must be a very thankless job, because I see comments on social media from individuals who are frustrated but undoubtedly do not realize the environmental constraints that our mosquito control district must legally abide by.
Even though we still have some mosquitoes, have you looked at the increase in your property values? We have transitioned from a land that few people wanted to some of the most desirable, and therefore most expensive, real estate in the state and nation. This change and the economy it created would never have happened without excellent mosquito control leading the way. If you travel to other parts of Florida, the southeast of the U.S. or other tropical and subtropical countries, you will know what I mean. We must urge Florida’s Legislature to recognize the critical value of mosquito control in their tax legislation.
In closing, I want to simply say thank you to mosquito control for being there every day. You are the unsung heroes who make the Florida Keys a real paradise. Please, keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
Richard Barreto
Key Largo
