NAMPA, Idaho — An invasive mosquito species known for living and feeding close to people has been detected along Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard.
Canyon County Mosquito Abatement District crews collected a single Aedes aegypti mosquito in late July from a carbon dioxide-baited trap used during routine surveillance. District employees visually identified the mosquito before four outside entomologists confirmed the identification.
This is only the second known detection of Aedes aegypti in Idaho. Canyon County Mosquito Abatement Director Jim Lunders, said finding one mosquito does not prove the species has established a local population.
To mitigate that risk, crews have treated potential breeding sources and adult mosquitoes around the collection area. They have also placed additional traps designed to attract Aedes aegypti.
“We’ve set additional traps around the area to see, is this a single mosquito or do we have an established population in the area?” Lunders said.
WATCH How Canyon County crews are responding to the invasive mosquito found in Nampa
Aedes aegypti depends heavily on man-made containers to reproduce. Lunders said flower pots, used tires, five-gallon buckets, discarded cans and other small objects can collect enough rain or irrigation water to become mosquito habitat.
The district says something as small as a bottle cap can hold enough water to produce mosquitoes in about a week.
Aedes aegypti lays its eggs inside containers just above the waterline. The eggs do not need to remain wet to survive, allowing them to be transported in dry flower pots, tires, buckets, or shipments of ornamental plants. Once the container fills with water again, the eggs can hatch.
The species is not gradually migrating into Idaho on its own, Lunders said. Mosquitoes or their eggs are likely being carried into the area in vehicles, shipments or household items.
In June, Canyon County crews were already finding a wider variety of mosquitoes earlier than usual following a warm winter. Some species were appearing two to three weeks earlier than expected.
Lunders said Aedes aegypti was once considered unlikely to survive Idaho winters. However, protected spaces such as storm-drain vaults beneath parking areas may create warmer microhabitats where eggs or mosquitoes can survive the winter.
The concern is not one or two mosquitoes that arrive and die during the winter. Lunders said repeated findings raise the possibility that the species could eventually establish itself and become an annual control problem.
Aedes aegypti can bite during the day or night and will enter homes looking for a person to feed on. However, daytime bites alone do not confirm that this species is responsible.
“Just because you are getting bit during the day doesn’t mean it is this species, but it could be,” Lunders said.
The district is asking Canyon County residents experiencing mosquito problems, especially those being bitten during the day, to submit a service request online or call 208-461-8633. Information about when and where people are being bitten can help crews identify possible species, locate breeding habitat, and determine where additional trapping is needed.
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