Prevent Exposure to Mosquitoes
Use the following tips to help protect yourself from exposure to mosquitoes.
• Use EPA-registered mosquito repellents when necessary and follow label directions and precautions closely.
• Tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks to cover gaps in your clothing where mosquitoes can get to your skin.
• Use head nets, long sleeves and long pants if you venture into areas with high mosquito populations, such as salt marshes.
• Stay indoors at sunrise, sunset and early in the evening when mosquitoes are most active, especially if there is a mosquito-borne disease warning in effect.
• Replace your outdoor lights with yellow “bug” lights, which tend to attract fewer mosquitoes than ordinary lights. The yellow lights are not repellents.
• Use structural barriers.
• Cover all gaps in walls, doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering.
• Make sure window and door screens are “bug tight.”
• Completely cover baby carriers and beds with netting.
Remove Mosquito Habitats
• An important part of mosquito control around your home is making sure that mosquitoes don’t have a place to lay their eggs. Because mosquitoes need water for two stages of their life cycle, it’s important to monitor standing water sources.
• Get rid of standing water in rain gutters, old tires, buckets, plastic covers, toys or any other container where mosquitoes can breed.
• Empty and change the water in bird baths, fountains, wading pools, rain barrels and potted plant trays at least once a week to eliminate potential mosquito habitats.
• Drain temporary pools of water or fill with dirt.
• Keep swimming pool water treated and circulating.
Information obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency.
With recent rains in the area, there is a lot of standing water throughout the community and this makes the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes, but taking certain steps can reduce the population of these biting insects.
The city of Great Bend has taken steps in helping with this problem by having scheduled spraying throughout the city for mosquitoes.
Great Bend Street Superintendent Mike Crawford said they will continue spraying on Thursdays, June 16, 23 and 30.
The spraying will last from 8 p.m. until midnight, weather permitting.
“As a precautionary measure, people should keep pets inside and keep doors and windows closed during the spaying even though the chemical is not dangerous to pets or people,” Crawford said.
Street Department personnel will apply insecticides from a fog machine mounted in pickup trucks running the main routes throughout the city.
“We don’t do alleyways or back yards even though with the right wind the chemical can reach these areas,” Crawford said.
He also mentioned that at local stores people can purchase chemicals to do the areas that the fog from the city spraying don’t reach.
If there are any questions, call 620-793-4150.
