Suffolk mosquito‑control superintendent outlines surveillance, spraying thresholds and public outreach

Charles Abidam, the city’s mosquito control superintendent, told the Suffolk City Council on July 1 that the city operates an integrated mosquito management program that combines biological surveillance and targeted abatement and is funded through the stormwater utility fee.

Abidam said staff monitor roughly 50 trap sites weekly across the city, identify mosquitoes to species in the lab, rear some specimens and test pooled samples for West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). He told council the city tracks about 48 mosquito species locally and focuses on the primary vectors associated with these two diseases. Abidam said the program also monitors for insecticide resistance so staff can rotate products and adjust timing.

Abatement operations are driven by multiple thresholds: trap counts, landing‑rate counts, visual confirmation, positive mosquito pools and multiple citizen service requests in an area. Abidam said adult truck spraying is most visible to residents but is typically a last‑resort tool; larval control is generally more effective because it treats standing water where mosquitoes breed.

In response to council questions, Abidam said the Great Dismal Swamp is monitored when possible but federal refuge rules limit application within the swamp; the city focuses on buffer areas near residences and coordinates with refuge staff when findings warrant. He confirmed weekly trap rotations and said higher‑priority, more populated areas receive more frequent attention. The department offers a mosquito dunk giveaway (one pack per month to Suffolk residents aged 18 or older) as part of public outreach.

Abidam invited council and staff to visit the mosquito control office and lab to see equipment and surveillance operations firsthand.