Delaware News

Heavy rains prompt mosquito alert and advisory; DNREC Mosquito Control working to thwart big rise in numbers

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Community Affairs | Division of Fish and Wildlife | News | Date Posted: Friday, June 14, 2013



DOVER (June 11, 2013) – Due to heavy rainfall Delaware has received in the last week – and with more rain forecast through the weekend – there will be plenty of surface water for the state’s mosquito species to lay their eggs with great numbers of mosquitoes expected to hatch in the near future.  

This confluence of ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes means homeowners should eliminate as much standing water found in containers from their property as quickly as possible – and encourage their neighbors to do the same. By draining or removing items that collect water, such as buckets, birdbaths, rain barrels, old tires, flower pot liners, depressions in tarps covering boats, clogged rain gutters, and unused swimming pools, homeowners can significantly reduce mosquito breeding habitat in their yards. 

DNREC Mosquito Control staff will be going through their normal triage of inspecting and treating the largest mosquito-producing habitats, including coastal marshes, impoundments, freshwater wetlands, inter-dunal swales, and problematic roadside ditches/medians. However, Mosquito Control has a limited amount of time to inspect and treat all of the above habitats before adult mosquitoes emerge. Even if successful on every aspect, waves of adult mosquitoes will be emerging over the next two weeks from untreated yards, ditches, flooded fields, woodland pools, and other habitat that Mosquito Control did not have the resources to inspect/treat due to the sheer volume of geography to cover after a statewide rain episode of this magnitude. 

The only recourse at this time is for the public to call DNREC Mosquito Control and request ultra-low volume spraying (fogging) to reduce the number of adult mosquitoes in a given area. This includes neighborhoods, developments, towns, and individual rural properties. Anyone planning outdoor events during the second half of June also should consider this request to the Mosquito Control Section in advance of the event. 

To help the Mosquito Control Section determine when and where to provide control services, report intolerable numbers of biting mosquitoes as follows:

  • New Castle County and northern Kent County from Dover north, call Mosquito Control’s Glasgow office at 302-836-2555
  • Remainder of southern Kent County and all of Sussex County, call Mosquito Control’s Milford office at 302-422-1512

For more information on Delaware’s Mosquito Control program, please call the main office at 302-739-9917, or visit http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Services/Pages/MosquitoSection.aspx.

 Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 43, No. 241

-30-

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Heavy rains prompt mosquito alert and advisory; DNREC Mosquito Control working to thwart big rise in numbers

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Community Affairs | Division of Fish and Wildlife | News | Date Posted: Friday, June 14, 2013



DOVER (June 11, 2013) – Due to heavy rainfall Delaware has received in the last week – and with more rain forecast through the weekend – there will be plenty of surface water for the state’s mosquito species to lay their eggs with great numbers of mosquitoes expected to hatch in the near future.  

This confluence of ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes means homeowners should eliminate as much standing water found in containers from their property as quickly as possible – and encourage their neighbors to do the same. By draining or removing items that collect water, such as buckets, birdbaths, rain barrels, old tires, flower pot liners, depressions in tarps covering boats, clogged rain gutters, and unused swimming pools, homeowners can significantly reduce mosquito breeding habitat in their yards. 

DNREC Mosquito Control staff will be going through their normal triage of inspecting and treating the largest mosquito-producing habitats, including coastal marshes, impoundments, freshwater wetlands, inter-dunal swales, and problematic roadside ditches/medians. However, Mosquito Control has a limited amount of time to inspect and treat all of the above habitats before adult mosquitoes emerge. Even if successful on every aspect, waves of adult mosquitoes will be emerging over the next two weeks from untreated yards, ditches, flooded fields, woodland pools, and other habitat that Mosquito Control did not have the resources to inspect/treat due to the sheer volume of geography to cover after a statewide rain episode of this magnitude. 

The only recourse at this time is for the public to call DNREC Mosquito Control and request ultra-low volume spraying (fogging) to reduce the number of adult mosquitoes in a given area. This includes neighborhoods, developments, towns, and individual rural properties. Anyone planning outdoor events during the second half of June also should consider this request to the Mosquito Control Section in advance of the event. 

To help the Mosquito Control Section determine when and where to provide control services, report intolerable numbers of biting mosquitoes as follows:

  • New Castle County and northern Kent County from Dover north, call Mosquito Control’s Glasgow office at 302-836-2555
  • Remainder of southern Kent County and all of Sussex County, call Mosquito Control’s Milford office at 302-422-1512

For more information on Delaware’s Mosquito Control program, please call the main office at 302-739-9917, or visit http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Services/Pages/MosquitoSection.aspx.

 Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 43, No. 241

-30-

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.