Hillsborough mosquito crews busy after Debby brings record rainfall
TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County mosquito crews have been busy after Debby brought record rainfall to the Tampa Bay area earlier this week.
"Typically, when we have a storm, it does create a difficult challenge for us because of the amount of water," Eric Long, operations superintendent with Hillsborough County Mosquito Management, said.
Long told FOX 13 that crews spent the week treating the county’s coastline from Cockroach Bay in Ruskin up to Upper Tampa Bay in Town ‘N Country, which is where saltmarsh mosquitoes like to breed.
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"If we don't stay on top of those, you can have a hatch off, and you can have a million just running rampant along that coastline," Long said.
It can take about a week for a mosquito egg to develop into an adult mosquito, according to county officials.
"Next week, we're going to be moving further inland and start taking care of all that floodwater that you see in the ditches outside in these areas along the major highways as well," Long said.
In addition, crews have been setting mosquito traps and testing the ones they catch in their lab, which includes the type of mosquito that could be growing in containers in your backyard.
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"Those are the ones that we're really trying to target right now. And the reason for that being, is because they have a greater chance of transmitting different diseases like dengue," Long said.
In June, the county confirmed its first case of locally transmitted dengue fever since 2019. This means the person was bitten here locally by a mosquito carrying the disease. Thankfully, there have been no reported cases since.
To help residents better protect themselves from these pesky insects, the county is giving away free mosquitofish at the FishHawk Sports Complex in Lithia on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. For more information, click here.
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