Naples Daily News - 06/03/2021 Page : A01

June 3, 2021 5:24 pm (GMT -4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

The warm weather has brought aninvasion of crawling and flying crit-ters into the crevices and corners ofhomes and gardens, leaving manypeople wondering which bugs maycause the most headaches this sum-mer.

According to Cindy Mannes, vicepresident of public affairs at the Na-tional Pest Management Associa-tion, warm and wet conditions pre-dicted across much of the U.S. thisspring and summer will contribute toan increase in pest populations.

We took a look at some of the mostcommon insects and arachnidsfound in the U.S. that also can createsome of the bigger problems for resi-dents as summer fast approaches.

Mosquitoes

h What’s new this year: Mosqui-toes are attracted to moist and warmweather. According to PestWorl-d.org, the rise of global temperaturesand human activity this year is ex-pected to contribute to the prolifera-tion of mosquitoes.

“Mosquito species we never be-lieved would be as far north, Massa-chusetts and other areas, some ofthose species are there now,” saidRon Harrison, entomologist and di-rector of technical services for OrkinGlobal.

h Why they are dangerous: Mos-quitoes are able to detect carbon di-oxide and lactic perspiration from itsvictims, according to the Illinois De-partment of Public Health, allowingit to latch onto humans and inject itssaliva into their blood.

Michael Skvarla, an assistant re-search professor of arthropod identi-fication at the Pennsylvania StateUniversity, says once a mosquito getsclose, it queues in on chemicals hu-

These are five of the mostcommon but dangerous bugsthat can show up around yourhome and property during thespring and summer months.Clockwise from top left:Mosquito, tick, cockroach, ant,wasp. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY TOM

MYERS/NATIONAL PEST MANAGEMENT

ASSOCIATION; AND THE NATIONAL

FOREST SERVICE

LITTLE BUGSTHAT BRING

BIG PROBLEMSSudiksha Kochi

USA TODAY

See PESTS, Page 4A

Why these pests have the potential to ruin health

Warm and wet conditions

predicted across much of

the U.S. this spring and

summer will contribute

to an increase in pest

populations.

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | NAPLESNEWS.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

Weather

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Voting rights

President Biden pushes for laws toprotect access to the ballot box. 4A

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TALLAHASSEE – After vetoing$1.5 billion, Gov. Ron DeSantis signedinto law Wednesday a $101.5 billionstate budget that spends heavily onpublic works projects, the environ-ment and $1,000 bonuses for manyFloridians on the frontlines of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The spending plan for the yearstarting July 1 is by far the largest instate history – 10% bigger than thecurrent budget. And it’s propped upwith billions of dollars in federal aid,much of it opposed by Republicans inCongress but a windfall for Florida’sRepublican governor.

“The budget really reflects a stategovernment that is meeting the coreconcerns of Floridians,” DeSantissaid before signing the measure dur-ing a stop at a New Smryna Beachrestaurant.

Even though the flush of federalcash staved off what had been pro-jected to be a dire budget year, De-Santis credited much of the state’s fi-nancial solvency to his own decision-making and his opposition to broaderlockdowns of the economy.

The biggest veto was eliminating$1 billion in federal money that law-makers steered toward creating anew emergency preparedness andresponse fund that DeSantis ac-knowledged failed to comply withguidelines from Washington.

In the spending plan, $1,000 bo-nuses are paid to teachers, princi-pals, first responders and correction-al officers — cash portrayed by GOP

DeSantissigns$101.5BbudgetFirst responders,teachers to get bonuses

John Kennedy, Capital BureauUSA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA

Gov. Ron DeSantis shows the2021-22 state budget he had justsigned Wednesday in New SmyrnaBeach. NIGEL COOK/THE DAYTONA BEACH

NEWS-JOURNAL

See BUDGET, Page 12A

Pollution that’s built up on South-west Florida’s urbanized landscapesover the dry winter and springmonths will soon wash into localcreeks, rivers and bays in what’sknown as the first flush effect.

Everything from excess fertilizersto pesticides, oils, gasses and heavymetals will soon deliver a concentrat-ed load of pollutants to local water-ways.

“The first manifestation is typical-ly turbidity or a staining or coloring ofthe water that’s more intense thanusual,” said Calusa WaterkeeperJohn Cassani. “The pollutants buildup and the first season rains deliverya disproportion amount with theearly season rains.”

Even atmospheric dust and nitro-gen get caught up in the heavy rains.

This first flush effect happens ev-ery year with the arrival of seasonalafternoon thunderstorms. Techni-cally the rainy season started on May15, but daily afternoon rainfall pat-terns are just now starting.

“It’s hard to pinpoint an exact day,although the past few days we haveseen an increase in showers andthunderstorm activity in SouthwestFlorida,” said Richard Rude, a meteo-rologist with the National WeatherService. “So I’d say the rainy seasonis creeping up on us.”

Some areas in Southwest Floridahave already seen notable rainfall.

It’s time for‘first flush’ of pollution Chad GillisFort Myers News-Press

USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA

See POLLUTION, Page 6A

Naples Daily News - 06/03/2021 Page : A04

June 3, 2021 5:24 pm (GMT -4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

4A | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | NAPLES DAILY NEWS +

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden used the100th anniversary of Tulsa’s race massacre to make aplea for sweeping legislation in Congress to protect theright to vote as Republican-led governments in Texasand other states pass new restrictions making ittougher to cast ballots.

Biden, marking the centennial in Oklahoma onTuesday, called out lawmakers in Congress – includingtwo senators in his own party – for holding up actionon voting bills. Invoking the words of the late Rep.John Lewis, Biden said the right to vote is “precious”and must be protected. He vowed that June will be a“month of action” on Capitol Hill as Congress consid-ers the legislation, among the top priorities of his ad-ministration.

“We’re not giving up,” Biden said about the bill, S.1.“I’m going to fi�ght like heck with every tool at my dis-posal for its passage.”

Republican legislators in state capitols across thenation are pushing what experts say is an unprece-dented wave of bills aimed at restricting access to theballot box. While Republicans say the bills are aimed atpreventing voter fraud, Democrats contend that themeasures are aimed at undermining minority votingrights in particular.

Most recently, the Texas legislature moved closer topassing a bill that would reduce early voting hours,tighten voter identifi�cation requirements for absenteeballots and eliminate ballot drop boxes and drive-thruvoting centers. The bill was blocked only when TexasDemocrats walked off� the House fl�oor on Sundaynight, but Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he’llorder a special session to ultimately ensure its pas-sage.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell onWednesday downplayed the ability of the new statelaws to quash voter turnout.

“I don’t think any of these eff�orts at the state levelare designed to suppress the vote based upon race,”

McConnell said at a press conference in Kentucky. McConnell vowed to block S.1, characterizing the

bill that’s heading to a vote as undue federal overreachinto state election systems. He said no GOP senatorssupport it.

Biden addressed the federal voting rights legisla-tion during an event marking the 100th anniversary ofthe Tulsa race massacre, in which a white mob lootedand burned Tulsa’s Greenwood district, which wasknown as “Black Wall Street.”

As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, andthousands of survivors were forced for a time into in-ternment camps overseen by the National Guard. Bi-den said the nation must acknowledge the long-for-gotten chapter of history to fully heal from it, and hepledged action on key issues confronting Black Amer-icans, including police misconduct and restrictions onvoting rights.

Despite Biden’s pledge to keep fi�ghting to pass leg-

islation protecting voting rights, however, he acknowl-edged Tuesday that his biggest obstacle may lie withinhis own party.

Biden called out two fellow Democrats in explainingwhy he hasn’t enacted some of the most ambitious ele-ments of his agenda, noting that slim majorities in theHouse and evenly divided Senate have hamstrung leg-islative negotiations around key issues like votingrights.

Responding to critics who question why he hasn’tbeen able to get a wide-reaching voting rights billpassed, Biden lamented, “Well, because Biden onlyhas a majority of eff�ectively four votes in the House,and a tie in the Senate – with two members of the Sen-ate who voted more with my Republican friends.”

It appeared to be a veiled reference to DemocraticSens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sine-ma of Arizona, both of whom have frustrated Demo-crats with their defense of the fi�libuster. The rule re-quires most legislation to win 60 votes to pass, makingmany of Democrats’ biggest priorities like voting rightsand gun control dead on arrival in the 50-50 Senate.While Sinema is a sponsor of the voting rights bill thatpassed the House, known as the For the People Act,Manchin has refused to sign on, calling the measure“too broad.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,told colleagues that he would be bringing the votingrights bill to a vote the week of June 21, in eff�ect testingwhere senators stand.

Biden has tasked Vice President Kamala Harriswith leading the administration’s eff�orts to defend vot-ing rights, declaring that with her leadership, Amer-icans will again “overcome” eff�orts to reduce access tovoting, as they have in the past and did during the2020 election, which saw record turnout despite newvoting restrictions.

In a statement, Harris said she plans to work withvoting rights groups, community organizations andthe private sector to strengthen voting rights, as wellas push for passage of voting rights legislation on Cap-itol Hill.

“The work ahead of us is to make voting accessibleto all American voters, and to make sure every vote iscounted through a free, fair, and transparent process.This is the work of democracy,” she said.

Biden pushes voting laws as restrictions mountPresident blames Dems Manchin,Sinema for impeding progress

Alexandra Jaffe and Lisa Mascaro ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Joe Biden vowed that June will be a“month of action” on Capitol Hill as Congressconsiders voting legislation. EVAN VUCCI/AP

Scientists have found clues that theworld’s leading COVID-19 vaccines off�erlasting protection that could diminishthe need for frequent booster shots, butthey caution that more research is need-ed and that virus mutations are still awild card.

Critical studies are underway, andevidence is mounting that immunityfrom the mRNA vaccines made by Pfi�zerand Moderna does not depend exclu-sively on antibodies that dwindle overtime. The body has overlapping layers ofprotection that off�er backup.

Pfi�zer and Moderna have fueledbooster questions by estimating thatpeople might need yearly shots, just likewith fl�u vaccinations, and the compa-nies are working to have some candi-dates ready this fall. But companies willnot decide when boosters get used. Thatwill be up to health authorities in eachcountry.

Other experts say boosters may beneeded only every few years.

“I would be surprised if we actuallyneeded a yearly booster shot,” said Dr.Paul Offi�t, a vaccine specialist at theChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia whoadvises the Food and Drug Administra-tion.

They point to ways the immune sys-tem remembers the coronavirus so thatonce original antibodies fade, thebody’s defenses can swing back into ac-tion if a person is exposed again.

“I’m pretty optimistic. I wouldn’t ruleout the need for boosters, but the im-mune response so far looks actuallyquite impressive,” University of Penn-sylvania immunologist John Wherrysaid.

Antibodies that form after vaccina-tion or natural infection do wane natu-rally, but there’s evidence that thoselevels remain strong for at least six tonine months after mRNA vaccinationand possibly longer. They also appeareff�ective against worrisome virus mu-tants – at least for now.

Scientists do not yet know what’scalled the correlate of protection, thelevel below which antibodies cannotfend off� the coronavirus without addi-tional help.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. govern-ment’s leading infectious disease ex-pert, told a Senate subcommittee lastweek that vaccine protection would notbe infi�nite.

“I would imagine we will need, atsome time, a booster,” Fauci said. “Whatwe’re fi�guring out right now is what thatinterval is going to be.”

To date, 62.8% of the adult U.S. pop-ulation has received at least one dose ofa COVID-19 vaccine and 133.6 million, ormore than 40%, are fully vaccinated.

The rate of new vaccinations hasslowed to an average below 600,000 perday, according to the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention. That’s closing

in on President Joe Biden’s goal of 70%with at least one inoculation by July 4.

Infections and deaths continue tofall. The nation’s seven-day average fordaily new cases fell to less than 17,300on Tuesday, down from more than31,000 two weeks ago. Daily deaths de-clined to 588, down from 605, accordingto data from Johns Hopkins University.In all, the virus has killed more than595,000 people in the U.S.

With diff�erent coronaviruses thatcause common colds, people tend to getre-infected every two to fi�ve years,Wherry noted.

Based on natural immunity againstthose related viruses, “we are sort of ex-pecting our immunity may decline,” hesaid. “But we don’t know. For thesemRNA vaccines, we may be doing betterthan nature, better than a natural infec-tion.”

So far, health authorities agree thatthe most common COVID-19 vaccines inthe U.S. and Europe protect againstthe virus mutations that are currentlycirculating, though not as strongly as they guard against the original virus.

With so many people still unvacci-nated, opportunities abound for moremutations to occur. The biggest signthat a booster might be necessary wouldbe a jump in COVID-19 cases in fully vac-cinated people, especially severe ill-nesses and especially if the infectionsare caused by a new variant.

To get ready, people vaccinated ayear ago as part of the fi�rst Pfi�zer andModerna vaccine trials now are beingenrolled in studies of additional shots –either a third dose of the original or ver-sions that have been updated to match avariant that fi�rst emerged in South Afri-ca. Moderna says preliminary fi�ndingsare promising. More results are due thissummer.

The National Institutes of Health alsojust began testing a system in which pa-tients are given a diff�erent brand ofbooster than their original vaccination,to see if it is eff�ective.

Most of the world’s population hasyet to receive a fi�rst dose. With diff�erentcountries using diff�erent kinds of vac-cines, decisions on booster shots mayvary widely.

Vaccine protection mightdiminish need for boosters

Scientists have found clues that theworld’s leading COVID-19 vaccinesoffer lasting protection that coulddiminish the need for frequent boostershots. BEN GRAY/AP FILE

Lauran Neergaard ASSOCIATED PRESS

mans release in their breath, andchooses to bite certain people overothers based on those chemical keys.

Mosquitoes have the ability totransmit harmful diseases from theirsaliva, including malaria, encephali-tis, yellow fever and dengue.

h How to prevent bites: One easyway to avoid mosquito bites is to applyinsect repellent containing at least20% DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil oflemon eucalyptus, according toMannes.

It is also helpful to wear long-sleeved shirts and closed-toe shoeswhen outdoors. Choose light-coloredclothing as mosquitoes tend to be at-tracted to darker-colored clothing.

Ticks

h What’s new this year: While theexact reason for the geographicspread of ticks is unclear, the Centersfor Disease Control and Preventionsays that reforestation and suburbandevelopment has contributed to thespread of Lyme disease because of theclose contact of deer, people, miceand other hosts for ticks.

Another reason for the increasedspread of ticks this summer could bethe weather. According to PestWorl-d.org, most states will experiencewarmer and wetter conditions whichwill drive tick activity.

h Why they are dangerous: Tickshave the ability to spread dangerousdiseases, including Lyme disease,anaplasmosis and babesiosis, in as lit-tle as 36 to 48 hours after the initialbite, according to Mannes. The CDCreports that while there is no way ofknowing how many people get Lymedisease, an estimate based on insur-ance records suggests 476,000 Amer-icans are diagnosed and treated forLyme disease each year.

h How to prevent bites: Whilesome ticks can detect carbon dioxidethe same way mosquitoes can, otherswill typically latch onto its victims byclimbing onto a plant and waiting atthe edge for someone to walk by andbrush it.

Wear fully covered clothing – in-cluding long pants, long-sleevedshirts and closed-toe shoes – whenoutdoors to avoid becoming a poten-tial host. Cutting the grass and remov-ing weeds, woodpiles and debris canreduce the likelihood of tick bites.Also wear insect repellent containingat least 20% DEET, picaridin, IR3535or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

Wasps

h What’s new this year: It is verycommon for wasps to be the most ac-tive during the summer, as this is usu-ally the time it builds colonies andlays eggs. June and July are themonths where wasps can reach peakactivity and will tend to be more ag-gressive.

h Why they are dangerous: In theU.S. alone, stinging insects send morethan 50,000 people to the emergencyroom every year, according to the Na-tional Pest Management Association.A wasp’s stinger typically containsvenom. Some people can have an al-lergic reaction to that venom, whileothers can experience symptomssuch as rash and irritation.

h How to prevent stings: Wear in-sect repellent and avoid sweet-smell-ing perfumes and colognes. Use aclear plastic cup if you are drinking abeverage outside because wasps canhide behind cans or water bottles.Contact a licensed pest control pro-fessional if a wasp decides to build ahive on your house. Do not attempt toremove the hive yourself.

Cockroaches

h What’s new this year: Cock-roaches love warm, humid areas andare actively searching for food duringthe summer. It prefers to hide in kitch-ens and bathrooms.

h Why they are dangerous: Cock-roaches are known to cause allergicreactions and trigger asthma attacksin children, according to Mannes.They also have ability to spread 33kinds of bacteria, including E. Coli andSalmonella, six kinds of parasiticworms and seven kinds of humanpathogens.They eat living and deadhuman fl�esh but are more likely to bitefi�ngernails, eyelashes, feet and hands.Symptoms of the bite include irrita-tion, lesions and swelling.

h How to prevent bites: Seal anycracks and crevices around the home.Maintain a 50% humidity level insidethe house. Wipe surfaces, includingkitchen counters and stovetops, daily.Store food in airtight containers andavoid leaving pet bowls out for longperiods of time.

Ants

h What’s new this year: Ants areattracted to food. Even the smallestcrumbs left on the dining table or thefl�oor can attract a horde of ants. Harri-son says that because more people areat home due to the pandemic, andcooking more rather than eating out,more ants are expected to infesthouses this summer.

h Why they are dangerous: Redimported fi�re ants clamp onto theirvictims with strong jaws and repeat-edly inject venom into a human withits stinger, according to the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture. Symptomsof the sting include burning sensa-tions, itches and rashes. Argentineants and carpenter ants, on the otherhand, can contaminate food and dam-age property.

h How to prevent bites: To avoidcontamination of ants inside thehouse, seal cracks and crevices withappropriate sealant and store sweetand sticky foods inside the cabinets.Properly clean up any spills to ensurethat there aren’t open sources for antsto get through. Dispose of trash reg-ularly and repair leaking pipes.

PestsContinued from Page 1A