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Speaker 1: But look, if you've been out and about a lot

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Speaker 1: over recent days, like I have been, you will certainly

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Speaker 1: notice that those mausies are back around the place. And

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Speaker 1: we'll joining us on the line to tell us a

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Speaker 1: little bit more. Is into Health's Medical Entomology Operations Manager

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Speaker 1: Stephen Fricka. Good morning, Steven.

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Speaker 2: Hey, good morning. Can here you go?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? Really good, lovely to catch up with you now.

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Speaker 1: We caught up a few weeks slender, and it does

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Speaker 1: look like we're experiencing another peak at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't really think you need the calendar to

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Speaker 2: work that one out, unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah, I think I

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Speaker 2: said last time, A lot of the mosquitoes at this

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Speaker 2: time of year driven by tides. So we had a

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Speaker 2: high tide a few weeks ago, a little weekend before last,

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Speaker 2: and that sort of triggered these things to come out again.

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Speaker 2: So it's been a bit of a I don't know,

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Speaker 2: there's been quite a few around. We do best efforts

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Speaker 2: to control them, but I think I said last time.

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Speaker 2: You know, we've got such a wide network of of

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Speaker 2: wetlands around the town that some of them do tend

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Speaker 2: to fly in. So yeah, it is that sort of

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Speaker 2: peak period at the moment, Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So how long are we expecting this peak period to last.

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Speaker 2: It should drop off in the next week. We did

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Speaker 2: get a bit of follow up rain after the high tide,

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Speaker 2: and we went out and had to look at that

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Speaker 2: as well, and we did notice that there is a

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Speaker 2: bit of a turn. I think from now on we'll

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Speaker 2: start to get a bit of a change in the

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Speaker 2: actual type of species I reckon. I mentioned last time

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Speaker 2: that we do have quite a few species up here,

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Speaker 2: and during the sort of build up to the wet season,

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Speaker 2: we have these mosquitoes that are brought about by the tides,

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Speaker 2: the high tides, and that the water comes in and

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Speaker 2: fuds these areas where the eggs are and they hatch

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Speaker 2: and they come out and they bought they bite us.

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Speaker 2: But going forward, we're going to get We're going to

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Speaker 2: start to see a bit of a change in what

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Speaker 2: species are around, which also does changes the risk profile

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Speaker 2: as well. So people, you know, they do need to

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Speaker 2: be aware that the mosquitoes will come out following rain now,

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Speaker 2: so they can't really rely so much on the coland

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Speaker 2: to indicate when these big mosquito numbers are going to

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Speaker 2: come out. But they do need to be careful going forward,

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Speaker 2: because this is sort of the big period for feroster

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Speaker 2: of a virus which we don't want people to get

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Speaker 2: because it can be a bit of a nasty thing. So,

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Speaker 2: you know, I suppose we should be reminding people that

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Speaker 2: as the mosquitoes drop off, they may come up at

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Speaker 2: any time due to rain, and they should if they're

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Speaker 2: going out doing their fishing or walking and enjoying our

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Speaker 2: lovely parks and nature reserves, or going to watch their

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Speaker 2: kids play soccer at a particular spot where they do,

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Speaker 2: knowing their own mosquitoes, they should really make sure they

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Speaker 2: wear some long list feeding clothing, you know, and don't

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Speaker 2: get bitten walking on this blood.

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Speaker 1: Exactly. We've been like absolutely smothering ourselves, you know, in

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Speaker 1: massie repellents, and I know that a lot of people

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Speaker 1: have been doing the same at this point. I mean,

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Speaker 1: it does seem as though we've got quite a large number,

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Speaker 1: and you've pointed to the reasons why when so are

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Speaker 1: we expecting you know, are we expecting the numbers to subside?

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Speaker 1: I mean it sort of sounds like it's based on

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Speaker 1: a number of factors.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well it is, And you know, I mean, I

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Speaker 2: don't want to say that they're going to subside tomorrow

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Speaker 2: and then and then we get a big rainfall, and

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Speaker 2: that causes over the next few weeks we should see

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Speaker 2: them decline over the next week. The sort of peak

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Speaker 2: period or not, I shouldn't say peak period, but there is.

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Speaker 2: The periods of high abundance are for the tidal mosquito

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Speaker 2: I used to call it anything anything that people understand.

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Speaker 2: We'll start to drop off in the next three to

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Speaker 2: five days, I suppose, and then you know from from

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Speaker 2: the actual tide. We did have that rainfall a few

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Speaker 2: days later, so it might push that that period of

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Speaker 2: higher abundance over an extra couple of days. However, while

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Speaker 2: we were out, we did notice that a lot of

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Speaker 2: those salt marsh mosquitos there had been flooded for a

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Speaker 2: longer period, which means that there probably won't be as

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Speaker 2: much of a boost in numbers if that rainfall occurred,

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Speaker 2: say today, which is quite fortunate, which means that that

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Speaker 2: area it's got topped up, which means that we didn't

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Speaker 2: really get that extended boost of higher numbers. But I

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Speaker 2: would expect that they would drop off, and depending what

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Speaker 2: happens over the next next couple of weeks. We do

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Speaker 2: have another high tide coming in just before Christmas, on

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Speaker 2: about or the sixteenth. I think it is around that

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Speaker 2: sixteenth seventeenth eighteenth, which I hope, I hope that we

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Speaker 2: get it all the rain before then, because that'll push

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Speaker 2: out the peak to ride on Christmas, which will be

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Speaker 2: a bit unfortunate for people this year. I would think it's.

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Speaker 1: Not really what we want. Is it your Christmas lunch

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Speaker 1: and you're you know, you're swatting the mausies, you.

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Speaker 2: Know what I mean, too many other visitors for Christmas.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, it's nice to have a lot

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Speaker 2: of visitors at Christmas, but those little fellows, we want

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Speaker 2: to keep them out.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they're pesky little buggers. You don't really Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And I suppose the other thing is as well. We've

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Speaker 2: had a fair bit of rain, so particularly in the suburbs,

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Speaker 2: so people it's probably a good good time for people

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Speaker 2: to go around and you know, maybe just doub look

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Speaker 2: around the garden and tip out some of those containers

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Speaker 2: that are around there. Because I don't want to blame

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Speaker 2: everything on the on the swamps and the salt marsh.

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Speaker 2: Because with all that rain, we'll start to see a

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Speaker 2: few of the domestic mosquitoes coming out as well, So

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Speaker 2: just be I think people should be aware. They're aware

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Speaker 2: of the fact that when we get these big rain falls,

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Speaker 2: if we've got some containers in the yards or or

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Speaker 2: things that they do hold water, we can get these

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Speaker 2: little container breaders that do occur in the suburbs and

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Speaker 2: they'll come out probably about now as well. And you

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Speaker 2: know they they carry things like dog heartworms, so people yeah, yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 2: MUMU tip those out as well, and that'll make those

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Speaker 2: mosquitoes are a bit pesky, they do. They're a bit

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Speaker 2: I actually don't like them, yeah, more than the salt

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Speaker 2: marsh mosquitoes, because they come out around dusk and they

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Speaker 2: bite you on the ankles. And when you're out water

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Speaker 2: in your garden and you're getting bitten on the ankles

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Speaker 2: and the wrist, that's them. So hellmoker in your garden.

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Speaker 2: Maybe about some containers as well.

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Speaker 1: So you definitely don't want them popping around for Christmas either.

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Speaker 2: Steven, Oh, I know they're really annoying. No, no, because

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Speaker 2: you'll be sitting at the table and you'll be bitten

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Speaker 2: on the ankles and terrible, terrible.

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Speaker 1: Well, Stephen, always good to catch up with you. I

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Speaker 1: really appreciate your time. Just remind us so people can

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Speaker 1: still jump online, they can go and check that Mossie

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Speaker 1: calendar as well to sort of keep up to date

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Speaker 1: with the peak times as well.

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Speaker 2: That's right, yeah, yeah, and it's also good for salt

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Speaker 2: marshes sorry, the midges as well. We have a conor

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Speaker 2: off of midges as well. So yeah, it's always good

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Speaker 2: to not play anything on those particular times that it's

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Speaker 2: going to be out doors or at least have an

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Speaker 2: indoor option. And I think people also got to remember

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Speaker 2: that we're getting that change in species coming up over

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Speaker 2: the next month or so, so now there is a

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Speaker 2: bit of a higher risk of things like a rosser

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Speaker 2: a virus which although it's not you know, it doesn't know,

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Speaker 2: it's not fatal, but it can be actually quite debilitating

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Speaker 2: and perfect people for a period of time, which is

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Speaker 2: not a great thing to go into Christmas with.

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Speaker 1: No absolutely so do make sure that you protect yourselves

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Speaker 1: absolutely well. Stephen Fricker, a medical entomology operations manager, really

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Speaker 1: good to speak with you this morning. I appreciate your

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Speaker 1: time as always.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for having a chat, Katie. I appreciate your interest.

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Thanks mate. We'll talk again so