Mosquito Control

FCPH's Mosquito Management Plan

FCPH has built their mosquito program based on principals of integrated pest management (IPM).  IPM is a comprehensive approach to pest management that focuses on prevention, education, and controlling pests at their most vulnerable stage while minimizing hazards to the environment.

• Surveillance:  FCPH has an extensive surveillance network to monitor numbers and species of mosquitoes in its service areas.  They set over 150 mosquito traps per week (3 different types of traps) from mid-May through the end of September.  They then test mosquitoes from each of their 63 zones (2 of which are in Whitehall) each week for West Nile virus.
• Prevention: FCPH routinely monitors and inspects hundreds of sites where they know mosquitoes breed, including multiple sites here in Whitehall.  They apply larvicides to standing water which control mosquitoes at their most vulnerable development stage.  They also encourage the public to alert them to areas of stagnant water and high mosquito populations. Report a concern on Franklin County Public Health's website.
• Control: FCPH will make decisions to spray an area by truck, based on surveillance data collected from their mosquito traps.  They have set action thresholds that must be met before they will consider spraying an area.  These action thresholds include presence of West Nile infected mosquitoes and high numbers of mosquitoes.  FCPH will not spray whole areas by truck based on complaints alone.
• Outreach and Prevention: FCPH educates residents about the diseases that mosquitoes can spread.  They also promote ways the public can protect themselves from bites and reduce mosquito numbers in their own yard.  Preventing mosquitoes from laying eggs in standing water in the first place is the most effective way to control mosquitoes.