Harrison County mosquito control out in full force

Four mosquitoes have been tested positive for West Nile Virus in Louisiana.

“Well, Animal Planet named the mosquito the deadliest animal on the planet.”

Mosquito bites kill more than one million people each year. Mosquito control crews work year round, but they’re out in full force right now to trap and drive down the mosquito population in the county. Mosquito Control Director Gene Fayard said, “The mosquitoes, they lay their eggs in water and then they hatch so they’ll lay their eggs and their eggs will go dormant in a dry ditch and then when it rains the water comes up and they’ll hatch.”

Each day, the crew mark hot spots on their maps, targeting areas where a lot of mosquito larvae have been discovered. “What we’ll do is all year around we’ll go treat ditches or any standing water for larvae or for eggs and then we’ll fog at night.”

They set traps around the county and share their findings with the state. “We put this water, this real stinky water, like fishy water in a trap and it collects the mosquito which is the West Nile carrier.”

Dave Dobson with Harrison County Mosquito Control said, “The mosquitoes are attracted to this and we call it a gravid trap. They can fly down to the water and there’s a fan that pulls them into the net.”

“We identify those, just the females, and we send them to the state. They test for West Nile Virus.”

“Not to scare anybody, there’s precautions you can take, light-colored clothing, wear long sleeves and long pants, light colors.”

As mosquitoes lay their eggs in anything with sitting water, mosquito control workers say you can also protect your home by making sure nothing is sitting around that collects water like old tires and even kids’ toys. In the meantime, they’ll be doing their job to clear out these deadly pests.