Prevention

We are urging residents to take a proactive approach to managing mosquitoes in their neighborhoods. Although mosquitoes play an important role in the food chain they also carry dangerous viruses such as malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, west nile virus and Zika. This pest needs water to lay their eggs so identifying and removing places they can breed will be a very important step in prevention.

Here are recommendations for mosquito prevention on your property:

• Inspect your property for standing water.
  
  

  Outdoors

  Puddles, swimming/wading pools, tires, poorly irrigated landscape, bird baths, junk piles, roof gutters, storm drains, outdoor furniture, abandoned cars

  Indoors

  Puddles, swimming/wading pools, tires, poorly irrigated landscape, bird baths, junk piles, roof gutters, storm drains, outdoor furniture, abandoned cars

• Dump standing water weekly or every few days. If the water cannot be removed be sure to keep the water circulating and/or treated.
• Cut your lawn regularly and keep weeds away.
• Remove any clutter or trash on your property.
• Don’t overwater your lawn or plants.
  
  

Keeping mosquitoes outside will also be important in preventing bites and preventing mosquitoes like the yellow fever mosquito from breeding inside of your home. Below are ways to keep your home mosquito free.

• Inspect all windows and doors to make sure screens are in good condition. Add screens if there aren’t any already.
• Seal all gaps around the home that could give mosquitoes access.
  
  

Remember, prevention is key to mosquito control so follow the tips above regarding standing water to deter breeding. A more in depth prevention guide can be found on The American Mosquito Control Association’s site.

Potential mosquito breeding sites around the yard.