BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Bexar County is preparing for mosquito season by spraying the area after this week’s much-needed rain.
Mosquito bites aren’t just annoying. They can carry potentially deadly diseases.
“They can adversely affect them pretty badly — even healthy individuals if it’s West Nile, or Zika — or even if we haven’t had it around here, but it is possible to get Dengue or Encephalitis, and those can be fatal,” said Ethan Spierling, a stormwater quality inspector with the Bexar County Public Works Department.
The Bexar County Public Works Department said it sets out traps across the area and continually tests for these diseases. Last year, three areas tested positive for West Nile: two on the far West Side and one on the Northeast Side.
- U.S. Highway 90 and Cagnon Road
- Glen Fair Drive
- U.S. Highway 90 and Kriewald Road
So far this year, no area of Bexar County has tested positive for any of these diseases. If they do, Spierling said they concentrate their efforts on that area.
“We increase our fogging in that area, focusing on that area, and we keep trapping in that area,” Spierling said.
Spierling said the community being proactive in preventing mosquitoes around homes can be the most effective way to eradicate them.
Cutting grass, getting rid of standing water and raking up leaves or any brush that collects water can help.
Yards can be protected by buying mosquito dunks at local hardware stores, which kill the larvae before they hatch. They work by putting them in buckets around your home or in a pond.
The dunks are not harmful to animals if they drink the water or live in a pond where they are used.
Protecting yourself while outside is crucial, so spray down using a spray with DEET or picaridin and organic plant-derived ingredients.
If you want to avoid the chemicals or natural spray doesn’t work, apply the spray after covering up with long sleeves and pants. Or go the extra mile by using mosquito net protection. It might look silly, but it works.
These nets are a game changer, especially when protecting younger children on walks because they might not be able to handle mosquito spray.