City official says stop scratching and start fighting mosquitoes

Summer 'tis the season Texans become scratchers — and we're not talking Lotto scratch-offs.

It's mosquito season and though the City of Kilgore spends big bucks spraying for the pests, the best way to stop them in their tracks is to eliminate their breeding grounds.

"We need everyone to understand that spraying for mosquitos is the least effective way to kill them," said B.J. Owen, the city's director of special services.

Owen explained the city's chemical spray must come into direct contact with a mosquito to kill it. That's why back yards are great areas for mosquitos, because it's unlikely the spray will ever make it from the street to the rear of homes.

"If they don't run into that spray, they don't die," Owen said.

City workers can't spray if the wind is blowing too hard or if it's too hot. That's why they're out spraying at 4 in the morning and at midnight.

"We also can't spray if rain in the forecast — legally we cannot spray," Owen said.

Mosquitos spend their first four to 10 days of life in water, Owen said, so that is the logical place to start killing them.

Ditches, rain gutters, beer and soda cans, garbage cans, plastic bags, litter, cemetery memorial vases — anything that can hold even a drop of water for a few days — can become home for mosquito larvae.

For ditches and rain gutters, Owen suggests purchasing $3 or $4 worth of minnows, which will eat the larvae.

"Minnows are a really cost effective way to get rid of mosquitos in areas that will hold water for a week or so," Owen said.

He also recommends "mosquito dunks," which can be purchased at local stores and work for about 30 days.

The dunks have an organic enzyme that kills the mosquito larvae in birdbaths, fountains, tree holes, potted plants and shallow areas that hold water for three or four days after a rain. And the dunks won't harm birds or fish, Owen said.

The dunks work well and those who use them will see dead larvae within a day or two, he said.

Owen adds mosquitos can lay their eggs in a container and the eggs will be viable for up to a year — all they need is a little water.

"Just because there's not water around, if something will hold water it doesn't hurt to treat it," Owen said.

Mosquitos also hide in alcoves and low grasses, and drink sap from bushes and other plants.

"In fact, mosquitos primarily feed on sap," Owen said. "Females only take a blood meal when their eggs need to be fertilized."

Owen said mosquitos love bushes because they weak fliers and shrubs block the wind.

"They hide in the bushes, trees and alcoves under the eaves of the porch. When the wind dies down in the evening and it gets quiet, that's when they come out looking for blood to feed their eggs," Owen said.

He recommends spraying mosquito spray and foggers around porches and alcoves.

Owen also encourages neighbors to work together to reduce the mosquito population.

"Some mosquitos have a 200-yard flight path their whole life, and some can travel up to half a mile, so a neighborhood, as a group, can help kill them by working together," Owen said.

"Try to empty their breeding grounds and wear repellent with DEET in it because mosquitoes like to bite at dusk and dawn. Wear long-sleeved shirts if you can because you really don't want to catch one of these mosquito-borne diseases," Owen said.

No cases of West Nile have been reported this year, but Owens warns the disease is endemic, meaning it's here and it's here to stay.