The final leg of summer

So hard to believe that summer break is almost over.

I love my internship - I have learned so much this summer and am looking forward to continuing with this particular topic (mosquito - vectors) for independent study this coming school year.

We have been setting up traps and gathering ovitraps in different areas all over the county the last few weeks. Recently, we went to old permanent sites to deliver notices about checking for mosquito larvae.  These places ranged from Kannapolis, Harrisburg, and Concord. We had 4 or 5 places that were non-existent from 10 years ago, since C.S last visited these sites (funding for monitoring abroviruses/other vector borne diseases was cut back in 2008 and they started funding again because of the Zika virus threat).

We have also gone to check on complaints. Yesterday, we followed-up (with CS) on a complaint near CHA, and found a surprising breeding ground on the premise with mosquitoes. The person lived next to someone who put old cans of soda in a plastic bin filled with water from the recent rains,  Yet - when the larvae samples were dead - due to someone putting pertherin (not sure on spelling) or another similar insecticide in the bucket to prevent other insects.  The other complaint we went to had breeding all over - including a storm pipe, water on a trailer, and some miscellaneous buckets filled with water.

It was also interesting to learn how to control mosquito breeding - which they use 3 types (I only remember 2 off the top of my head).  MMF - is a layer of molecules that inhibit growth of mosquito larvae (Larvae stage is the stage before the mosquito is fully grown) but isn't harmful to other insects.  C.S had a bottle of this (looks like cleaner) but has told us that they stopped making this particular kind of insecticide.  The other control method is using gambusia - which are fish that eat mosquitoes (I am not sure if it is larvae or adult).  (Disclaimer: we don't do the control methods as interns).

In other news,  I was able to eat lunch and catch up with my high school creative writing/English teacher (and mentor) K.S.E. It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years since I last saw her and 8 years since I had her the first time in high school.  She was the one who went up with my graduating class in our English classes (she taught every English class except for Freshman English when I went to Carson) - so she watched me and many others advance through high school.  She also encouraged me to finish school (I questioned school as a freshman in high school) and saw the potential in me, both in life and with my creativity (along with the only time I ever got in trouble in school was her and only because she cared).

Funny to think of our conversation today and much of what she used to tell me is similar to me and Dr. H's conversations.