Mosquitoes Taking a Bite Out of Summer Fun-August 2, 1986

Young Norwood fishermen Mike Murray, 12, along with his younger brothers Pat Murray, 11, and John Murray, 8, have discovered a frustrating trend while spending several hours every summer day fishing at Willett Pond on the Norwood–Walpole line.

They are getting significantly more mosquito bites on their bodies than fish bites on their lines. They’re really biting out here, Mike Murray remarked during a cold, wet afternoon, with the brothers agreeing that the season brought the largest number of mosquitoes in their more than five years of fishing experience.

The Murray brothers were far from alone in their misery. The Norfolk County Mosquito Control Project reported receiving around 100 complaints per day, predominantly from Norwood, Dedham, and Needham. Project Supervisor John Smith explained that heavy rains in June helped produce an above-average population of mosquitoes across Norfolk County, noting that Quincy also experienced an unexpected second brood off the salt marshes. Camp directors, local residents, and sports teams echoed the complaints. Elaine Klingsberg, director of the Dedham Community Association‘s day camp, noted children were going home completely bitten up, while Mary Caljouw, secretary at the Dedham Community House, expressed frustration that requested spraying near the camp never materialized. However, Project Supervisor Smith defended the agency’s schedule, stating that streets were routinely sprayed every two weeks between midnight and 6 a.m.

To cope with the swarms, locals turned to both conventional and unorthodox remedies. At Willett Pond, East Walpole resident Frank Fruci carried a bottle of Avon Skin So Soft bath oil in his tackle box, claiming the scent kept the bugs away. Down the road at Cleveland Field in Norwood, members and coaches of the Scotty’s Auto Body girls’ softball team—including coach Carol O’Donnell and manager Cindy Imbrogne, along with players Kelly Graham and Kerri “Pee-wee” Cote—swore by a mixture of one-tenth Avon Skin So Soft and nine-tenths water. Players complained that the bugs stuck to their visors and disrupted games. Explaining the biology behind the infestation, John Smith noted that reflood mosquitoes hatch when rainwater floods eggs laid above the waterline in woodland pools by biting female mosquitoes seeking protein for egg development, pointing out that the pests breed around wetlands and spread countywide. Despite the widespread local outcry, resilient locals like Jerry Strain of New England Brickmaster remained unimpressed by local bugs, joking that New Hampshire mosquitoes bite much bigger.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger