Mosquitoes and New Jersey have been synonymous since the 1600's when the settlements and towns began. However, mosquitoes were here first. New Jersey has roughly the shape of an hourglass, is 169.5 miles from Cape May to Port Jervis and has a width of 31.5 miles between the Delaware River at Trenton and Raritan Bay on the east coast,. to a narrow spot at Cape May Point known as the "Rips", where the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay meet. The northern section consists of low mountains and valleys with many rugged streams. The mountains disappear by the time the latitude of Trenton and New Brunswick are reached and the southern portion of the hourglass is nearly all a comparatively level coastal plain except the Monmouth highlands extending southwestward from Sandy Hook in Monmouth County. Along the upper region from Newark Bay to the Delaware Bay this coastal plain is bordered very generally with low lying salt marshes of which according to a 1895 New Jersey Geological Report, there were 296,000 acres. Ninety-eight years have passed since this report, and wetlands delineations show many acres filled especially in the northern and eastern part of the state.

Transportation is historically a factor having much influence even on agricultural development. In the days of New Jersey's early settlement water-borne transportation was dominant and consequently the early settlements were made first upon such good land as lay adjacent to manageable water courses where trade could be carried on.

The mosquito situation was well appreciated in early times. To quote a few early settlers:

Max Schalish speaking of New Sweden near the mouth of the Delaware River in 1627 said, "Swedes built a fort called Mockeborg, because of the numberless mosquitoes infesting the region."

In 1748 Peter Kalm wrote, "The gnats which are very troublesome at night here, are called mosquitoes. They are exactly like the gnats in Sweden, only somewhat smaller. In the daytime or at night they come into the house and when people have gone to bed, they begin their disagreeable humming, approach nearer to the bed, and at last suck up so much blood that they can hardly fly away. Their bite causes blisters on people with delicate skin.

When the weather has been cool for some days, the mosquitoes disappear. But when it changes again, and especially after a rain, they gather frequently in such quantities about the house that their numbers are astonishing. The chimneys which have no valves for shutting them out afford the gnats a free entrance into the house of the English. On sultry evenings the mosquitoes accompany the cattle in great swarms from the woods to the houses, or to town, and when the cattle are driven past the houses the gnats fly in wherever they can.

In the greatest heat of the summer they are so numerous in some places that the air seems to be quite full of them, especially near swamps and stagnant water., such as the river Morris in New Jersey. The inhabitants therefore make a big fire before the houses to expel these disagreeable guests by the smoke."

J.B. Brissot de Werville in 1788 said: "The road from New York to Newark is in part over a marsh; I found it really astonishing; it recalls to mind the indefatigable industry of the ancient

Dutch settlers mentioned by Mr. de Crvecoeur. Built wholly of wood, with much Tabour and perseverance in the midst of water, on a soil that trembles under your feet, it proves to what point may be carried the patience of man, who is determined to conquer nature."

"But though much of these marshes are drained, there re a large extent of them covered with stagnant waters, which infect the air, and give birth to these mosquitoes with which you are cruelly tormented, and to an epidemical fever which great ravages in summer; a fever known likewise in Virginia and in the southern states, in parts adjacent to the sea."

Dr. William Currie of Philadelphia in 1792 said: "Me flat and hy parts of this State (New Jersey) which are very numerous are infested with myriads of mosquitoes which give intolerable annoyance to man and beast. Their bites often occasion an Erysipelas, both painful and dangerous. These insects, however, are never observed when the mercury is below the 60 degree. I do not know the degree of cold which renders bugs inactive, but have been kept awake by them at Salem as late as the tenth of November."

Thus it appears that in early days from 1637 to 1850 the pest mosquitoes, undoubtedly salt marsh species, were extremely and seriously troublesome throughout the entire coastal area of the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware bay.

Informal attempts to survey the locations of mosquito breeding and exterminate the mosquito actually began in the early 1900's at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in New Brunswick

In 1906, the first law passed which specifically recognized mosquito abatement as a necessary function of the State. This law made it the responsibility for the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, through as assistant appointed by him, to investigate and make recommendations regarding the problem.

In 1912, an amendment to this law delegated this authority to counties within the State and provided for special commissions for the purpose.

As a result of the 1912 amendment to the mosquito laws, County Mosquito Extermination Commissions were formed in 20 of 21 counties in the State over the next several years.

In 1913, the need arose to organize mosquito control workers in New Jersey - resulting in the founding of the New Jersey Mosquito Extermination Association. The Associated Executives of Mosquito Control Work in New Jersey was officially established in 1921 for the purpose of coming together on a monthly basis to discuss and help solve problems encountered in all New Jersey counties within the operational and research communities and the Agricultural Experiment Station. They met monthly prior to the time at the request of the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station as it was impossible for the station personnel to visit each county monthly so they asked the counties to assemble together for coordination, education, advice and guidance.

In 1927, another amendment was passed which required the Director of the State Experiment Station to carry out investigations on the biology and control of mosquitoes and disseminate public information regarding recommended control measures.

A formal effort to establish an association of a more national scope occurred in 1935, when the need for such a group was discussed at a monthly meeting of the Associated Executives of Mosquito Control Work in New Jersey. Mosquito control officials were facing ever-increasing charges from wildlife enthusiasts regarding the alleged disruption of waterfowl habitats along the Atlantic Coast. The mosquito abatement practice most frequently criticized at that time was the ditching of marshlands for mosquito control. This practice had become more prevalent as a result of the Depression, which made labor relatively inexpensive and this management technique more economical. Thus CCC and WPA labor entered mosquito control efforts. In a united effort to counter these charges with scientific data, the Eastern Association of Mosquito Control Workers (EAMCW) was organized in Trenton, New Jersey, on June 26,1935. Twenty-five individuals were installed that day as charter members of the EAMCW. Membership continued to grow and on March 16,1944, this Association became the present day American Mosquito Control Association.

After World War II, mosquito research and control continued with the use of ditching and spraying of DDT. Reading back through the Minutes of County Meetings and the New Jersey Mosquito Control Association Proceeding, it was evident that money was in short supply but Commissions for the most part, showed a continued sustained growth; counties with the most ratables showing the most growth.

Research at the Experiment Station continued because of the clause in the mosquito laws requiring the Director to approve the Plans and Estimates of the County Commissions.

An outbreak of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in August of 1959 resulted in 34 human deaths and hundreds of horses lost, and a major loss of tourism dollars at the Jersey shore. A large infusion of money and personnel resulted on into the 1960's and up until the beginning of a strong environmental movement in the early 1970's.

Things began to change, DDT was no longer allowed and we had to look for new chemicals with little or no residual with the least effect on the environment. Our water management on salt marshes began to change from grid ditching to a technique called Open Marsh Water Management or TRISH, Tidal Restoration of Salt Hay Impoundments. Adulticiding and larviciding methods formulations and equipment changed and became more conservative. The Co ions started to hire biologists, entomologists and those trained in mosquito taxonomy and ecology. We were called upon more and more to explain our actions. came into being (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act) followed by Wetlands Acts, Clean Air, Clean Water and all the many regulations we have today. We needed to be better trained, and better educated. Research and public education were a musts.

As monies dried up, Commission budgets were tight. In the late 70's, several counties voted for a charter change and Commissions were dissolved to become a part of the public works department or health department. Mosquito control suffered when this happened.

The New Jersey Statutes annotated, Title 26, Chapter 9, the revised Statutes of New Jersey (the Health Codes) were responsible and continues to be responsible for enabling mosquito control work throughout the State. Through the years, charter changes in the counties along with the idea of centralization politics have reduced the number of Commissions operating under Title 26, as a Commission, to nine. Eleven operate as either agencies of the Health Department, Public Works Department or Parks. The counties that still operate as Commissions are: Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Salem and Warren.

Agencies or departmental operations are Atlantic, Bergen, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Union Counties.

Hunterdon County in the Northwestern portion of the state has never had mosquito control.

We have survived all the changes. However, some have fared better than others. Major tourism dollars is still a strong impetus for mosquito control as well as disease potential and public use of outdoor recreational facilities; including their own back yards. The tolerance level for mosquito annoyance has decreased over the years. Most people will tolerate only a few mosquito bites before they want something done about it.

New Jersey spent approximately $12 million dollars on mosquito research and control in the past year. A new century approaches and mosquito production in New Jersey is essentially a problem that has been controlled. The continuation of our programs depend upon our ability to educate the public and government officials of the need for continued vigilance and maintenance of our programs. If all research and control ceased in New Jersey, we could be back where we started in a matter of a few years.

History repeats itself, but each time it does, the price goes up. Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past, are doomed to repeat them.

Let's hope this does not happen to us. We have a proud history of mosquito control in New Jersey approaching the 100 year mark. In a world where millions of people still die each year from malaria and third world countries still suffer from mosquito borne diseases, the United States of America has a proud history of mosquito control. We should be proud! It is to our credit that our citizens complain about even a few mosquito bites. We have learned from our mistakes and look forward to the future for even better methods of control. In New Jersey, over the past century we can pat ourselves on the back and say, "A Job Well Done."