It's a daily battle to take back neighborhoods from the more than 40 species of mosquitoes that reside in Hillsborough County
Mosquito management depends on a delicate balance of scientific controls and resident participation.
Our goals
We protect residents by monitoring for mosquito-borne illnesses, and control the pests through biological methods, trapping, elimination of breeding sites, destruction of larvae, and spraying pesticides at street level and from the sky.
Surveillance program
We have 30 mosquito traps throughout the county to keep track of the mosquito population. We also use a Sentinel Chicken program to monitor for Encephalitis viruses in birds before they reach humans.
Managing mosquitoes
Our unit conducts more than 30,000 larval production site inspections per year. Problem areas might be eligible for applications of larvicide by hand or backpack spreader or from vehicles, helicopters or planes.
In 2023, the Mosquito Management Services Unit:
- Responded to more than 5,700 customer service requests
- Completed 32,888 inspections of mosquito larval production sites
- Conducted larval mosquito treatment on 120,201 acres of water
- Treated 17,787 storm drains/catch basins with larvicide briquets
- Conducted adult mosquito treatment of 337,128 acres
- Provided 24,000 mosquito fish to the public
- Responded to 172 suspect and confirmed mosquito-borne disease (arbovirus) cases
- Collected 368,940 adult female mosquitoes in traps
- Provided mosquito prevention education at 25 events
Mosquito spraying FAQs
Contact
For more information, call our department at (813) 635-5400.