Abstract: Action thresholds are essential to many mosquito control operations throughout the world. The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District utilizes action thresholds prior to any operational ground or aerial application of larvicides and adulticides. Multiple factors are taken into consideration when setting action thresholds throughout the Florida Keys, starting with Florida State law. Florida State Statute dictates when and where a control program can make applications based on multiple methods of surveillance. Other considerations when setting action thresholds in the Florida Keys includes rainfall, presence/absence of mosquitoes, mosquito-borne disease threats, and coordination with both State and Federal land managers. All thresholds are specific to different areas of Keys and can vary by island or neighborhood due to differences in potential mosquito-borne disease threat, base population of mosquitoes, and endangered species concerns. Action thresholds play an important role in operations for the control of mosquitoes, especially throughout the Florida Keys due to all of these complicating factors.
