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THEY’RE BAAAACK; SEWER-BREEDING MOSQUITOES RETURN TO 84TH STREET

December 18, 2014 | 8:55 AM
in NEWS
14

mosquito4

The sewer-breeding mosquitoes that ravaged residents of West 84th street have returned, and they’re as thirsty as ever.

We first wrote about the critters three years ago after hearing that residents on 84th between West End and Riverside were getting attacked year-round by mosquitoes. After repeated prodding, the city investigated and found that the buggers were breeding in the sewers. And they’re not your average mosquito: officially called Culex pipiens molestus, they are hardier than traditional mosquitoes, and were even known to harass Londoners during the World War II Blitz.

Residents said the mosquitoes had first appeared in the summer of 2010, but they had had trouble getting the city to do anything, in part because there was no evidence that the critters were carrying West Nile Virus.

The infestation had gotten particularly nasty by the following year; people on the block were getting severe welts from the stings, and one child had even had to go to the hospital. Local politicians got involved and the city began flushing the sewers out and repaired holes in the street to get rid of the bugs. Some readers told us they had

Unfortunately, it sounds like the measures may have slowed the mosquitoes but it didn’t stop them for good. CBS reported this week that the mosquitoes are in full force, and people are using nets and bug zappers to keep them away.

Howard Freeman, who lives on the block, tells us the mosquitoes don’t ever seem to go away: “I keep a bottle of Off at bedside. Spray myself every night.”

Are you getting stung by mosquitoes? Let us know in the comments.

(As if the residents on 84th needed more craziness, a water main break on the block last night and the water was shut off. It was patched by morning.)

W84th Street water main break. Near Riverside. pic.twitter.com/3XRzb3GttU

— HowardFreeman (@meadonmanhattan) December 18, 2014

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Anna
Anna
7 years ago

My daughter woke up this morning with bites on her face and her feet- the 2 places that usually end up un covered.

We are on Riverside and 84th St.

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ScooterStan
ScooterStan
7 years ago

Uh-oh! “Quick, Henry — the Flit!”

per Wikipedia:
“In 1928 Flit, … became the subject of a very successful long running advertising campaign. Theodor Seuss Geisel created the artwork for this campaign, years before he started writing the children’s books that made him famous as Dr. Seuss. The ads typically showed people threatened by whimsical, menacing insect-like creatures that would look familiar to fans of Dr. Seuss’s later work and contained the tagline “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” This advertising campaign continued for 17 years and made “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” a popular catchphrase in the United States.”

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geoff
geoff
7 years ago

though i’m outside this mosquito ‘catchment area’, i’m curious to know the mosquitos’ ceiling.

i live on a 3rd floor and i get mosquitos from time to time—small and blacker than those with which i’m familiar.

i’ve also had bites on places that are usually covered.

how high do they fly (and bite)?

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Cato
Cato
7 years ago
Reply to  geoff

We live on the 7th floor and, during their first couple of years here, we had those mosquitoes in droves. Every day and every night. Couldn’t figure out how they got up that high, but they did.

So far, we have not seen them in this return infestation, but I fear it’s only a matter of time.

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ScooterStan
ScooterStan
7 years ago
Reply to  geoff

The F.A.A. claims to control all of the nation’s airspace. But so far it has not set any formal rules for mosquitoes.

However, since mosquitoes emit a droning sound, they are technically covered by the temporary rules for unmanned DRONES.

Thus they too are banned from flying above 400 feet and may not operate within a half-mile of any airport.

The F.A.A. is working on proposed rule-making and should have mosquito rules done in what the F.A.A. considers a timely fashion…possibly by 2018, barring a Republican led sequestration.

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Nora
Nora
7 years ago

We have them on 83rd between West End and RSD also. It’s just crazy to have a fan blowing on me full force on a cold night in hopes that it will keep the mosquitos at bay. So annoying!

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MJ
MJ
7 years ago

It’s more than an annoyance, it’s unhealthy. Especially for children.

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bravo
bravo
7 years ago

It seems that the only thing that will make the city to take care of the health hazard in IT”S OWN SEWERS is a law suit. Any moscito-bitten lawyers available?

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kimba
kimba
7 years ago

Yep..I was getting unusally large mosquitos in my bedroom/apt summer of 2013 and 2014. I live between 81 and 82..right off broadway.

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Ashleyh
Ashleyh
7 years ago

We live on West End Avenue @62nd street in the West End Towersand we have been having issues with mosquitoes at our place; we are on the 10th floor

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Pedestrian
Pedestrian
7 years ago

Gee, the City cannot rid the sewers of mosquitoes but they can fork out 50 million to help a developer build a building where billionaires get a 98% tax abatement. The sewers in NYC have for the last couple of years smelled like NEW ORLEANS in the night of the summer. It’s not surprising mosquito find it comfortable. But never mind it only bother people near the ground not billionaires living in the clouds on the taxpayers dime.

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SD
SD
7 years ago

We live on 94th and Columbus and have had mosquitos problems for the past 4 or 5 years – yes, even in the middle of the winter and we are on the 12th floor. It seems to be a problem all over the Upper West Side.

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NikFromNYC
NikFromNYC
7 years ago

You fossil hippies killed millions banning DDT and now hilariously you kvetch about safely malaria free bug bites in winter because of the effect of the junk science ban on you.

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richard rosenfeld
richard rosenfeld
6 years ago

The mosquito problem is so bad here that I am going to move at the end of my lease. We are on 84th between West End and Riverside. I literally walk around my apartment on alert day and night. Bleach seems to ge tthem, but the are fast and intelligent. Their bite wakes me up nightly, the stings take hours to wear off. I use witch hazel, that seems to work best. Its worse here than on Fire Island.

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