By Cindy Mulla, Public Relations/Education, Beach Mosquito Control District
Spring has sprung, summer is around the corner, and we all will be spending more quality time enjoying northwest Florida’s great outdoors. Enjoying picnics, sporting events to evening outdoor concerts but… are you prepared for the crescendo of Mother Nature’s symphony and its annoying buzzing section?
You might ask, what can one do to abate this annoying occurring situation? It all starts at home. Before heading outdoors make certain to put on insect repellent recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as your protective invisible shield. Remember to always read the label first and to re-apply the repellent just like a sunscreen. The lower the percentage of the active ingredient the more often you will need to re-apply the repellent. Fact: Only the female mosquito bites, not the male. She needs a blood meal to develop her eggs. One drop of blood can produce 250 to 300 eggs!
To keep a home or business property mosquito-free, become familiar with the surrounding outdoor environment. It is recommended to take a weekly tour of your property and look for any source that might be holding unwanted standing water. Even if it has not rained for a while, irrigation systems still can fill items with unwanted water. Examples are bird baths, buckets, boats, canoes, coolers, empty paint cans, kayaks, pools, rain gutters, spas, soda cans, tarps, tires, tire swings, trash cans, wading pools, wheelbarrows, or any other type of container. When you find item(s) with standing water, please dump the water and remove the source to rid the area of future mosquito breeding site(s). This will also eliminate any mosquito larvae or pupae that may already be present. Mosquitoes spend three life stages (egg, larva, and pupa) of their four-part life cycle in water. As hot humid temperatures continue to rise into summer along with typical intermittent rain showers, this will cause an increase of rapid mosquito growth. The outcome is a substantial rise in mosquito populations which can cause mosquito borne diseases transmission.
When you do your part, and you still have mosquito issues on the home front, contact the professionals at Beach Mosquito Control District. We are local government and tax base supported. Use either method to place a customer request: (850) 233-5030 or online at www.pcbeachmosquito.org. We care about your health and take pride in our prompt response time. You can count on our technological, science based, environmentally friendly solutions to resolve your mosquito problems. We encourage you to contact us so we can help you have a more enjoyable summer experience.
