CMCD Recognized for Innovation

By Patrick Linn, MS, MSHAPI
Executive Director, Collier Mosquito Control DistrictIn November, staff from the Collier Mosquito Control District attended the Florida Mosquito Control Association’s annual meeting in Orlando. At this conference, mosquito control professionals from around the state have the opportunity to share their experiences and learn from each other to benefit the Floridians we all serve.

In addition to the education and networking components of the conference, each year the FMCA recognizes those who have made a profound impact in the mosquito control industry. This year, District employees Rachel Bales and Atom Rosales received the James W. Robinson Memorial award for their work on the District’s mosquitofish program.

Bales is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University with a BS in marine science and works as a biologist. Rosales is currently a graduate student at Penn State University studying spatial data science and serves as the District’s director of technical development.

Launched in 2018, the District’s mosquitofish program provides free mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) to residents as a biological solution to reduce mosquitoes breeding on their properties. Each fish is about 1-2 inches long and can eat up to 100 mosquito larvae a day. Mosquitofish are a great tool for abandoned swimming pools, rain barrels, livestock troughs, ditches and any other small area of contained water that can’t be drained.

This award recognizes Bales and Rosales’ collaboration to combine biological mosquito control methods with computational streamlining. Together, they enhanced mosquitofish distribution and solved technical challenges such as no-shows for pickup appointments, inconsistencies between digital forms and location data and data entry inaccuracies.

Their teamwork led to rapid growth of the program, which has given away more than 35,000fish to date. What started as a small initiative now features two 800-gallon tanks, a van outfitted with a large, live, well tank system to deliver fish directly to residents and a robust backend web system to ensure that everyone who wants fish is able to receive them.

This infrastructure was especially helpful in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, as the District was able to quickly increase the number of fish available to help residents who were left withstanding water around their homes.

This marks the second year in a row that District employees have received this honor. Last year, Rufus “Butch” May, director of facilities maintenance, received the James W. Robinson Memorial Award for his commitment to enhancing the efficiency and safety of mosquito control operations, including the modification of District equipment, and managing two major hurricane recoveries and a large-scale remodel of District headquarters.

Mosquitofish are available, by appointment, every Thursday at District headquarters. For more information about the program, or to request fish of your own, visit our website at www.cmcd.org.

Anyone who would like to learn more about how we monitor for diseases or would like a tour of the lab and other facilities, can request a tour by emailing us at info@cmcd.org

To learn more about the Florida Mosquito Control Association, visit their website at www.yourfmca.org.

To learn more about the District or to sign up to receive treatment notifications, visit our website at www.cmcd.org.The Collier Mosquito Control District works to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our residents through the safest and most economical means available.