Mosquito FAQs

All mosquitoes must have standing water in which the immature life stages develop. They DO NOT develop in wet leaves or damp grass, although adult mosquitoes may rest in these locations to keep from drying out during periods of inactivity.

Eliminate any standing water on your property. This can include simply emptying containers and keeping them under cover or upside down to prevent refilling or may involve filling in low spots in your yard that hold water for a number of days when it rains.

Click here to view “Controlling mosquitoes around the home” brochure.

If you have adult mosquitoes you can call the Warren County Mosquito Commission. We will come to your residence and assess the situation to be able to come up with the best control strategy.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are able to collect any adult mosquitoes (swat them gently so we can identify them) and save them in a container for our inspectors it is helpful to us in locating the source of the problem. Since different species of mosquitoes develop in different types of habitat, once the species of the pest mosquito is identified, our inspectors know where to look find the larval habitat (where the mosquitoes are coming from) and control the mosquitoes before they become adults.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne disease that is common in Africa, western Asia and the Middle East . It was first documented in North America in 1999. Human infection with WNV may result in serious illness. Experts believe WNV is established as a seasonal epidemic in North America that flares up in the summer and continues into the fall.

From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fact Sheet: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factsheet.htm

• Serious Symptoms in a Few People. About one in 150 people infected with WNV will develop severe illness. The severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent.
• Milder Symptoms in Some People. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as short as a few days, though even healthy people have become sick for several weeks.
• No Symptoms in Most People. Approximately 80 percent of people (about 4 out of 5) who are infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at all.

From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fact Sheet: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/wnv_factsheet.htm

Infected Mosquitoes. Most often, WNV is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then spread WNV to humans and other animals when they bite.

Transfusions, Transplants, and Mother-to-Child. In a very small number of cases, WNV also has been spread through blood transfusions, organ transplants, breastfeeding and even during pregnancy from mother to baby.

Not through touching. WNV is not spread through casual contact such as touching or kissing a person with the virus.

The active mosquito control season runs from February/March through October/November. The months of November to February are utilized for the following activities, among others:

• Water management projects utilizing heavy equipment as well as hand ditching are ongoing throughout this time.
• Acquisition of the appropriate permits for water management projects.
• Brush clearing to allow for efficient access to inspect known mosquito breeding areas during the active breeding season.
• Visiting of some sites where the source of the mosquito population may be in question is done in the winter months because lack of vegetation permits better visibility.
• Updating all the mosquito breeding site records and revising the inspection routes so visits to the sites and subsequent control work can be made in the most efficient manner possible.
• Maintenance and refurbishing of mosquito traps, fish stocking supplies and spray equipment is done during this time. Annual reporting and updating of database files is done during the winter months.
• Development of training programs as well as training of staff also takes place during the winter months to maximize field time in the active mosquito breeding season.