Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

I’m sure you are well aware that mosquitoes are annoying. They also transmit diseases such as the West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus, either of which you don’t want to contract.

Alas, the Florida Department of Health says the number of reported cases carried by mosquitoes are coming in earlier than normal. The reason is not clear.

In other news, many people are abandoning houses in droves because of foreclosures. Seems that some of those abandoned properties include mosquito-infested pools (and old tires, and toys left out, and other places where those critters can breed), now.

But do not despair! Scientists say that approximately one in ten of us is a super-magnet for mosquitoes. All you have to do is befriend one of these folks, and bring them to all of your barbeques, pool parties, and camping trips. While the bugs dine on your new friend, you can enjoy the outdoors with little worry!

See DOH arboviral data for yourself.

From the AP, and found at TBO.com - Scientists abuzz about 7 new bug repellants: 

Florida researchers have identified seven possibilities for the next generation of mosquito repellant…

… some chemicals [repel] mosquitoes for as long as 73 days…

Wow - Seventy Three Days!!  The stuff we use seems to last about 20 minutes.  Here in Florida, mosquitos are a way of life.  This stuff could be quite useful.

Now if only they could begin work on Fire Ants, Love Bugs, and Alligator repellant.

Amy and her family are thinking about moving to Florida. Of course, before you move, you may want to check with the locals for any surprises. Ask About Tampa and we will help provide the answers, so we got an email from Amy:

My husband, our baby, and I are thinking seriously about moving to the Tampa Bay area from Portland Oregon. We are so tired of the 8 months of nothing but rain and we both like the beach. I have a few questions that I’d appreciate any answers

• Are the bugs unbearable?
• How many months are sweltering hot?
• Can you buy a cool 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a pool for about 300K?
• How expensive is the home owners insurance one needs (hurricane, flood, etc)?
• How bad is the traffic, for instance what are typical commute times to say St. Pete to Tampa? Could we live in Pinellas county and work in Tampa and get to work in a reasonable amount of time?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Just minutes before that, we got an email from Steve:

My wife and I are planning a move to Tampa from Portland, Oregon in February ‘08. Yes we are escaping the rain but another thing Portland is famous for is its bike paths. Is Tampa a good place for the occasional bicycle trip?

Now, I have no idea if Amy and Steve are from the same family. And it really doesn’t matter, I guess. We’ll just answer the questions from Portland together.

First off, for Steve - You will enjoy the Pinellas County Trail. It’s perfect for biking. It’s made for biking. To mix it up head to the Flatwoods or Wilderness Park in Hillsborough County. Check Alan Snel’s tampa bike blog for more. Now on to Amy’s concerns.

Eight months of rain is unbearable. Bugs are not. Plus you can just step on and squish the bugs. Doing that with rain doesn’t really help much.

For sweltering, August sorta sucks. Steve won’t be biking much. But it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. And the bugs, of course.

Traffic times vary greatly. Many folks live in Pinellas and work in Tampa. There is plenty of traffic information available online. I recommend 511 Tampa Bay or Google’s traffic maps.

Yep - you can find a cool 3/2 for 300K, but insurance is another matter. We’re in the middle of somewhat of a crisis. The most difficult part of buying your home will be locating an insurance company that will actually sell insurance. If you go with the “insurer of last resort,” you’ll spend a fortune. I purchased my home in late 2001, and insurance was $721. This year we’ll pay $2,000. Here is the St. Pete Times ongoing coverage of the Insurance Crisis, and the Tampa Tribune’s stories about Homeowners Insurance.

That’s it in a nutshell. I’m sure Sticks readers can give their thoughts as well.

(See the original full-sized cartoon here, from the [almost] daily cartoon paper fruit hair.)