No Mosquitoes in Manhattan

Ian Frazier’s reflections in a recent issue of The New Yorker on the excruciating futility of combating the concentric swarms of mosquitoes that plague people on the swampy flatlands of Western Siberia has brought to mind the surprising scarcity of such pests on the streets of New York City. In the summer, especially, the City abounds with outdoor diners. Why is it that the problem of pesky mosquitoes and invasive flies never comes up? This finding has received corroboration, incidentally, from the legendary Frank Constanza, George’s father on Seinfeld, who has famously said, “You know what I like about Manhattan. No mosquitoes.”

I can think of only two plausible, but ultimately unpersuasive explanations for this low incidence of mosquitoes. First, the City’s built-up environment of asphalt, concrete and steel girder skyscrapers is simply not terribly conducive to the survival of lots of flying insects. There aren’t many trees or shrubs, not much in the way of soil and dirt, and relatively few flowers and plants. That just doesn’t leave a whole lot of places for mosquitoes and flies to go. On the other hand, New York is a damp, humid place surrounded by water! Wouldn’t you think those conditions would attract a few annoying bugs? But, no, even down by the water, there may be a few more mosquitoes, but definitely not significantly more. As a regular rider on the Staten Island Ferry for a solid year, I have never been bitten or even bothered by a mosquito. And yet, who are we are kidding? This isn’t enough to stop mosquitoes.

Which leaves us to consider the more persuasive and yet still mildly unsatisfying answer. The city’s line item for extermination of pests remains large, so there is every reason to believe that regular and fairly intense spraying is a high priority. There is considerable evidence to support this claim, judging from the number of lawsuits that have been filed against the City for harmful overuse of pesticides. Usually, the explanation that is given is to protect city residents from mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus, but the persistence of these lawsuits suggests that we are talking about something much more insidious, maybe even a covert understanding between the City and small businesses that benefit from pest-free environments. And yet, somehow I doubt that even a highly intense spraying of insecticides could control pests to the extent that it has.

My final thought on this is that as a resident of the Financial District, I am living a sheltered existence. I have limited experience with mosquitoes in New York, because there are so few parks in the area where I live. Despite being near the water, the conditions for breeding are otherwise so limited by virtue of all the tightly fitted, skyscrapered, non-green spaces, there just aren’t many bugs around here. At this point that is the best I can do to explain my lack of encounters with mosquitoes in Manhattan, which apparently don’t match the experience of many others in the city. In the meantime, as I continue to try to figure it out, it is nice to sit on a terrace or on a park bench as the sun is setting and to know that you can be pretty certain to enjoy an evening free of buzzing and stinging.