Q: Who do I contact with questions?
A: Telephone: (863) 534-7377 or E-Mail: skeeter@polk-county.net
Q: Spraying for adult mosquitoes is not done on a routine schedule.
A: Schedules are made on a daily basis based upon surveillance data taken each morning from mosquito traps around the County. State pesticide regulations require specific surveillance be conducted prior to pesticide applications.
Q: How is mosquito surveillance conducted?
A: There are a number standard methods for mosquito surveillance. Polk County uses several. The primary system utilizes about 90 modified CDC light traps baited with Co2. Mosquitoes are collected and identified to species and counted. Public service requests are used to indicate problems not reflected by the light traps. Mosquito technicians in the field conducting larval surveillance and treatment utilize landing rate counts and aspirator collections to provide additional data.
Q: How often may we expect our residence to be sprayed?
A: During the peak of the mosquito season - no more than once per week. The county is divided into 43 treatment zones to be treated by nine seasonal employees.
Q: The spray truck does not always go in front of my house and drives too fast. Why am I being skipped?
A: You are probably not being skipped. The truck application equipment disperses pesticide at a predetermined rate based on the rate of speed the truck is traveling (normally between 5 and 20 mph). Since the spray must contact the mosquitoes, air movement is used to assist the dispersal, therefore drivers are trained to treat by establishing a treatment grid perpendicular to the wind direction, and to work from downwind to upwind. As long as the truck passes at no more than 600 ft distance, you will receive the same treatment as at 30 ft. Equipment performance is designed to kill at least 90% of the mosquitoes in that 600 ft swath. If you suspect this is not the case please call us at 863-534-7377, so that we may investigate the driver's activity.
Q: What pesticide is used and how much of it is being sprayed ?
A: Polk County presently uses a synthetic pyrethrum known as permanone. Total spray volume is three ounces per minute at 15 mph of which only 1 ounce is pesticide with the balance an oil carrier. This product has little toxicity to warm blooded animals.
Q: How do you know what area has been sprayed ?
A: Each night's activities are recorded and reviewed the following day. A GPS recording device provides a visual track of a truck's location and an indication as to whether the spray system was on. This system provides us the ability to view the actual work of the operator to determine if any part of the treatment area was missed and to assure that he or she is performing appropriately.
Q: Will the spray harm my children or pets?
A: Not likely. The pesticide is extremely safe for use around warm blooded creatures and is in fact a repellant for animals and man. There is, however, the possibility that the spray could cause a reaction in individuals with chronic respiratory illness such as asthma or emphysema from inhalation of the spray material.
Q: What can I do?
A: The objective is to eliminate all sites where mosquitoes can reproduce by removing water sources, which they require for their larval life cycle.
In sites where water must be maintained for pets, plants or other reasons, the water must be changed at least once per week and the container rinsed. If this is not possible, the container should be screened to prevent mosquito access to the water. The following is a list of things you can do to reduce your own mosquito production:
- Clean out troughs and gutters.
- Turn over any container that may hold water.
- Pump out boat bilges.
- Check tarps or other covers.
- Remove old tires or drill holes in them to allow them to drain.
- Dispose of broken or unused kiddie pools, toys, containers or any item which may hold water.
- Empty and replace water in pet water dishes, birdbaths and plant cuttings at least once a week.
- Check plants with large leaf axils that can collect water, such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Flush the plant at least once a week, move it inside, or eliminate it.
- Remove vegetation or obstructions in drainage ditches that prevent water flow.
- Plug tree or stump holes with sand or cement.
- If possible, grade and fill low areas on your property that may hold water for a week or more.
Q: Where can I learn more?
A: Polk County Mosquito Control
Public Health Related Sites
Pesticide Information Sites