Mosquito Control can be one of those public services that you do not think much about during your daily routine, until there is a public safety concern. With the recent reports of two human deaths and five horse deaths in the County due to Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, you might be wondering what the County's Mosquito Control does to protect the public.

The Hillsborough County Mosquito Control Unit has 25 staff members and a diversified fleet of vehicles, including helicopters and a plane, airboats, trucks, and ATV's to inspect for and fight mosquitoes. As part of its surveillance program, the Unit operates 15 sentinel chicken sites with 90 chickens, and 74 mosquito surveillance traps throughout the county.

During its routine operations, the Unit follows the practices of integrated pest management, which uses scientifically-based preventative methods first before turning to insecticides to spray.  These methods include biological controls, mosquito trapping for inspection purposes, the sentinel chickens to monitor for diseases, aquatic weed control and other methods to reduce places where mosquitoes breed, identification and destruction of mosquito larva, public education, and barrier spraying around smaller areas.

Since the beginning of this year, Hillsborough County Mosquito Control staff has captured more than 214,000 mosquitoes with its mosquito surveillance traps for inspection and classification.  The 74 CDC light traps are placed throughout the County and checked weekly. Additional traps have been set out and increased inspections and public education in the affected areas have been conducted after every report of infected animals or humans this year.

Since January, the Mosquito Control Unit has responded to more than 1,400 requests for service by residents.  It also has conducted more than 10,000 inspections by ground and 382 by air since the beginning of the year. As part of its inspections, staff looks for suitable mosquito breeding environments, standing water and adult mosquitoes. If mosquitoes or mosquito larvae are found to be present, staff can take additional actions, such as larviciding (or killing mosquito larvae in standing water) or spraying for adult mosquitoes.

Since the beginning of the year, Hillsborough County Mosquito Control has sprayed more than 32,000 acres with its trucks, more than 15,000 acres with its helicopters, and almost 70,000 with its fixed-wing air plane. 

As a result of the second death in the Valrico area being reported on July 29, additional truck spraying and inspections were being conducted, and additional traps have been placed in the area for surveillance. The Unit also will spray with the fixed wing plane on July 30 over the same area.

The Unit's fixed wing plane is allowing the County to spray affected areas much more quickly and efficiently.  The King Air C 90 plane is able to spray more than 23,000 acres on an average two-hour mission, versus the Unit's helicopter which can spray more than 5,000 acres on an average two-hour mission.  Not including the spraying that will be done by the plane on July 30, the plane has already sprayed one-tenth of the County with its missions the week of July 19.

For more information on the Hillsborough County Mosquito Control Unit and tips on preventing or reducing mosquitoes on your property, visit the Mosquito Control Web site by going to www.hillsboroughcounty.org and clicking on the "Mosquito Control" button under the Features section. On the Unit's website you also can learn more about Integrated Pest Management, what equipment they use today, how to request services, and where the Unit is spraying.

Residents are encouraged to report dead birds via the Web site http://myfwc.com/bird/. For more information on mosquito-borne illnesses, visit DOH's Environmental Health Web site at http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/arboviral/index.htm, or the CDC Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm.,