Recent warm and wet weather has created a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and the experts at Vector Control are reminding the public to be vigilant and empty out standing water.

It comes amid ongoing concerns about the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which remains a risk to Bermuda although there have only been imported cases and no local transmission.

“There is really no starting date for mosquitoes but during the summer time they’re more active because it’s warmer and people are outside more, sitting on their patios,” general foreman Tracy Woolridge told The Royal Gazette.

“Since we had a little drought, we’ve not had much activity. Now with this downpour, we have to be more vigilant because all it takes is a little bit of water for them to start breeding again.”

There are four types of mosquito in Bermuda: the culex mosquito, the eastern salt marsh mosquito, the black salt marsh mosquito, and the Aedes albopictus mosquito. According to the World Health Organisation, the latter has been shown to be able to carry the Zika virus with a similar vector competence to Aedes aegypti, which is not present on the island.

Zika was declared a global health emergency by the WHO last year after it was linked to neurological complications. Since August 2016, there have been six confirmed imported cases in Bermuda.

Armell Thomas, the programme manager of Port Health and Vector Control, said: “It’s still a risk. Any arbovirus is a risk to us. We still have suspected cases of Zika coming into the country.”

While he stressed that there have been no cases of local transmission, he added that the risk increases any time there are more people or vehicles.

Vector Control teams are alerted to suspected cases and do a “seek and destroy” sweep within a two to three-mile radius of the person’s home and workplace, looking for any signs of mosquito eggs.

They also started using new In2Care lethal weapon traps at all the island’s ports ahead of the America’s Cup, including the America’s Cup village, Caroline Bay and Hamilton Princess.

“We just wanted to be prepared,” Mr Thomas said. “We factored in the Marion Bermuda Race so we have them at all the yacht clubs that have docks as well.”

“If they hitch a ride on one of the boats as soon as they fly off the boat they will be attracted by the traps and die.

“If they touch the solution and then go somewhere else, it will just contaminate the area wherever they touch.”

According to Mr Thomas, Bermuda has one of the best mosquito programmes and he pointed to the variety of methods Vector Control uses to tackle mosquitoes.

Staff maintain 600 ovitraps across the island, which are checked for mosquito eggs on a weekly basis because it takes about seven days for the eggs to hatch.

The traps contain stagnant water and a paddle for the mosquitoes to lay eggs on and the Vector Control staff able to identify the species by looking at the egg alone.

“That separates us from the rest of the world,” Mr Thomas said. “In other jurisdictions it takes about two weeks to get that result back from their labs. So that gives us a big jump.”

If a problem area is identified, teams conduct a seek and destroy mission. They do door-to-door checks and inspect properties close by.

They also clear ditches and canals to keep water flowing and guppy fish have been introduced to bodies of water that could pose a threat.

Mr Thomas added: “We use insecticides, we use larvicides — we don’t do any aerial spraying based on sustainability to our water tanks so we can’t spray but we do a number of different things.”

He said the island’s regular trash collection also helps keep the mosquito numbers down.

“In other jurisdictions they pick their trash up every other week, sometimes three weeks, so it causes a major, major issue.”

Education has also made a big difference, Mr Woolridge said.The public are more aware of the threat and the need to empty out any standing water.

Mr Thomas also reminded the public that certain plants, such as bromeliads, hold water and can be a problem, along with construction sites, grave yards, bird baths, wading pools and old tires.

• For more information or to report a problem, contact Vector Control on 278-5397.