title: Managing mosquito spaces: Citizen self-governance of disease vectors in a desert landscape.
abstract: Public health agencies' strategies to control disease vectors have increasingly included "soft" mosquito management programs that depend on citizen education and changing homeowner behaviors. In an effort to understand public responses to such campaigns, this research assesses the case of Tucson, Arizona, where West Nile virus presents a serious health risk and where management efforts have focused on public responsibility for mosquito control. Using surveys, interviews, and focus groups, we conclude that citizens have internalized responsibilities for mosquito management but also expect public management of parks and waterways while tending to reject the state's interference with privately owned parcels. Resident preferences for individualized mosquito management hinge on the belief that mosquito-borne diseases are not a large threat, a pervasive distrust of state management, and a fear of the assumed use of aerial pesticides by state managers. Opinions on who is responsible for mosquitoes hinge on both perceptions of mosquito ecology and territorial boundaries, with implications for future disease outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. Electronic address: nvonhedemann@email.arizona.edu.
authors.forename: Nicolena
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: vonHedemann
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, 550 North Park Street, 122 Science Hall, Madison, WI 53706, USA. Electronic address: director@nelson.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Environmental and Earth Sciences, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, OR 97301, USA. Electronic address: mkbutterworth@willamette.edu.
authors.forename: Melinda K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Butterworth
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, 1001 I St., Sacramento, CA 95814, USA. Electronic address: klandau@email.arizona.edu.
authors.forename: Katheryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Landau
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE #100, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Electronic address: cwmorin@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Cory W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Morin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001130:Arizona; D009033:Culicidae; D003889:Desert Climate; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control; D004199:Disease Vectors; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011634:Public Health; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification
keywords: Arizona; Biopower; Environmentality; Political ecology; West Nile virus