The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department along with the Toledo Area Sanitary District would like individuals to take precautions to help avoid mosquito breeding around your home and to help prevent mosquito bites. Mosquito-borne diseases contracted in Ohio can include West Nile Virus, La Crosse Encephalitis Virus, St. Louis Encephalitis Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus
- Individuals can wear EPA-registered mosquito repellents containing DEET whenever mosquitoes are present and follow the label’s instructions.
- Wear long, loose and light-colored clothing, and socks when outdoors.
- Mosquitoes can bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing DEET or another EPA-registered mosquito repellent will give you extra protection.
- Take care during peak mosquito biting hours. Wear protective clothing and repellent from dusk to dawn or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
- Mosquito proof your home by installing or repairing screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes from entering your home.
To help address mosquito breeding around your home, you need to get rid of potential mosquito breeding sites to help prevent mosquito-borne diseases after heavy rains and flooding.
To reduce mosquito breeding you can:
- Empty standing water from flowerpots, gutters, buckets, pool covers, and birdbaths.
- If you have containers that are too large to empty, you can use a product containing BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) by following the label’s instructions. Products containing BTI which will control mosquito larvae may be found at local home improvement stores.
Beginning this year, the Ohio Arbovirus Surveillance Update can be found on the ODH website at http://www.odh.ohio.gov/arboupdate. The table will be updated each Monday thru mosquito season, so you should be able to go there at your convenience and get the most updated information.
For information on prevention messaging, surveillance, or for up-to-date mosquito-borne disease information, please see the Ohio Department of Health mosquito website at http://www.odh.ohio.gov/mosquitoes.
Visit the Toledo Area Sanitary District’s website or call 419-726-7891 for additional mosquito information, the Lucas County area spray schedule, to place a request for daytime misting of a property, to request additional nighttime fogging services, or if you would like to request a paper copy of the Toledo Area Sanitary District’s “Adult Mosquito Control & Risk Assessment” brochure.