Mosquitos Benefit From Bursted Housing Bubble

Via Mike Shedlock I see that the bursted housing bubble have created an unexpected side effect: an increase in the number of mosquitos as they can lay their eggs in abandoned swimming pools.

"A glut of vacant, unsold homes with swimming pools is contributing to a glut of mosquitoes in the West.

An untended pool means stagnant water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes to lay eggs that can produce thousands of mosquitoes in a couple of weeks. "They become these little backyard swamps," says John Townsend, who runs the mosquito-control office in Arizona's Maricopa County. "Mosquitoes move in and breed up a storm."

Luis Navarro, a mosquito-control officer in Maricopa County, says mortgage foreclosures have brought him more business this year.

Some owners don't drain pools when they move out, and pools that were drained collect rainwater, he says. Even a properly treated pool can become a haven for mosquito larvae in the heat as chemicals break down faster, allowing the growth of algae and mosquito food sources such as zooplankton."