The New Jersey Mosquito Problem and its Solution 



Walter R. Hudson 

 President, New Jersey Mosquito Extermination Association 



I. THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM 



In the Report of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station 

 I the Mosquitoes of the State by Dr. J. B. Smith, published in 1905, 

 was shown : 



(1) That one of the immature stages (the wriggler) of 

 each of the thirty odd species, known to exist in the state, could 

 live only in stagnant or semi-stagnant water ; 



(2) That all kinds of mosquitoes may be divided into two 

 groups — the fresh-water group, which breed in fresh water onty 

 and live and die not far from the places where they were 

 hatched, and the salt-marsh group, which breed only in the 

 brackish water of the salt marshes and fly or are wind-carried 

 for long distances (30 miles or more) over adjacent upland; 



(3) That the fresh- water mosquitoes are no more serious in 

 New Jersey than elsewhere, but that some of the salt-marsh 

 species emerge in such numbers during the summer as to ren- 

 der the uplands adjacent to the marshes almost unhabitable and 

 to prevent the proper development of seashore resorts and 

 agricultural land ; 



(4) That the entire coast of New Jersey with the exception 

 of a portion of the Monmouth shore, which was not only well 

 removed from the marsh but lay outside the usual direction 

 of flight, suffered severely every season ; 



(5) That trenching the salt marsh in such a way as to 

 remove stagnant surface water and permit the ebb and flow of 

 the tide in all ponds, creeks and ditches, would eliminate the 

 breeding of salt-marsh mosquitoes ; 



(6) That the filling, draining, cleaning and stocking with 

 fish, or covering the surface at regular intervals with oil would 

 eliminate the fresh-water mosquitoes. 



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