Sarasota County monitors adult mosquito populations year-round. Mosquito peak season occurs between May through October, when there is generally more rain and warmer temperatures. The following explains what we do to monitor the adult population of mosquitoes: 

There are three types of carbon dioxide baited traps set by Mosquito Management Services: service request traps, special interest traps, and route traps.  

1. Service request traps are set up at the discretion of one of our licensed technicians to further investigate a resident’s mosquito problem.

2.  Special interest traps are set up in response to an area that may typically have a high population of mosquitoes after a weather event such as rain, but can also be set up in response to travel-associated or local mosquito-borne disease.  

3.  Route traps have been set up in the same locations for many years and run May through November. There are currently forty-four traps dispersed all over the county. Where the traps are placed are based on a few factors like human population, development, habitat type, and accessibility.  

How is adult mosquito surveillance used?  

The collection bags from all three of these traps are gathered early each morning and placed in the freezer, so the mosquitoes keep intact and are euthanized. Later that morning the mosquito population is identified, counted using a microscope, and recorded by our biologists. 

The number of mosquitoes and the species determines what action is to be taken later that day. There is a minimum threshold of mosquitoes in a trap for an area to be treated and this threshold varies based on: mosquito population density, species of mosquito present, and whether the area is urban, suburban, or rural. Species that transmit disease and/or are more likely to bite humans have lower thresholds.  

A daily "Mission Planning" meeting takes place which includes our Manager, Operations Supervisor, and Biologist. The team gathers the scientific data to reach a consensus of whether a treatment is necessary and if so, where it should take place. 

How can I know when treatments are happening?

Scheduled treatments are shared on the Mosquito Management homepage, Sarasota County's official Facebook and Twitter (X) feed, and using the Everbridge "ALERT Sarasota" notification system. You may sign-up for notifications here: Alert Sarasota County.