HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla — It’s peak time for mosquitoes in the Tampa Bay area—60% of our annual rainfall happens between June and September.
Monday night, the area around MacDill Air Force Base saw about two inches of rain. Standing water is the ideal breeding ground for mosquito larvae.
With at least 10 locally acquired cases of dengue fever in Florida, one of those right here in Hillsborough County, concern for the virus has mosquito control officials spraying around the clock to get ahead of any potential spread.
Crews with the Hillsborough County Mosquito Control planned to spray for mosquitoes by air Monday evening into Tuesday Morning in South Tampa from Swann Avenue down to MacDill Air Force Base.
Typically, the map would show the gallons sprayed and the date when they were sprayed, which isn’t populating. However, according to the county, spraying didn’t happen because of an issue with the plane. The spray will happen later this week.
On the map, the areas in red are spots mosquito control have sprayed by truck over the last 28 days. There’s still large ares of Hillsborough County that have not been sprayed.
The county encourages people to contact them about concerns they have in their neighborhood. If you take a walk around your neighborhood and notice standing or stagnant water or drainage issues and you want the county to know about them, you can fill out a form online.
Also, if you have a concern in your own backyard, even if you think you’ve taken care of all the standing water but you want an expert to come to inspect the area, you can request a free on-site mosquito inspection from the Mosquito Management Services Unit.
They will inspect and identify any potential breeding sites, like puddles or standing water in containers on your property.
As for your neighborhood, if you think it needs to be sprayed, you can report that, too. Click here to fill out the form.
Also, on July 13 at 8 a.m. at the Southshore Regional Library in Ruskin, the Mosquito Ninja and Gambuzi-San Mobile Lab truck will be giving away mosquitofish for free. Mosquitofish eat mosquito larvae. You will need a photo ID to prove you live in Hillsborough County.
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