It's almost summer...I think?
Chapelcroft 2016 Mosquito Prevention
Mosquito breeding prevention is the name of the game
His unit is tasked with mosquito control for the entire state. DNREC can help us with part of it, and as homeowners, we have to do our part to eliminate water on our properties and around our properties (POSSIBLY including drains/creeks running through neighborhood, but I'll get to that later).
Tom walked around our neighborhood and looked for places that could breed mosquitoes. He pointed out many, many mosquito breeding grounds around our houses: open gutters, corrugated downspouts, trash bags with folds that hold water, pot saucers that hold water, etc. See the infographic below for more info.
What DNREC can do for us:
- Mosquito analysis: as soon as you see any mosquitoes, let me know and I can call Tom to come back to our neighborhood to catch them and figure out the best way to treat/prevent.
- Eco-friendly spraying in areas that are not direct responsibility of homeowner that will be effective. Spraying is the last resort for mosquito control. DNREC focuses on prevention to reduce the amount of chemicals they have to use for the good of our environment and our health. Our street drains are built with a sump that will always hold some water after it rains, making these a hot spot for mosquito breeding. He said they can spray a long lasting mosquito spray in the drains that will NOT harm our other wildlife. Possibly treat creeks where stagnant. The assistant to our state rep said that the creeks behind the houses on Burnett are NOT part of DelDot's right of way, so DelDot will not clean them out. We may have to organize a neighborhood day to clear the blockages in our streams to ensure good water flow.
- Help us identify SOURCE of mosquitoes and tell us how to fix it if he cannot do it.
What WE need to do to prevent mosquitoes:
How to prevent TONS of mosquitoes from breeding -- COVER all corrugated downspouts with window screening or pantyhose.
If you are using corrugated downspouts, seal the end with either window screening or pantyhose. Prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs and you will see a big reduction in mosquitoes. Corrugated tubing can produce thousands of mosquitoes, since it never fully dries out and will always hold water in the folds. Asian Tiger mosquitoes don't need a lot of water to breed.
Cover corrugated downspouts with pantyhose
Empty trash bag folds of water after every rain
Call Missy if you see mosquitoes
Email: fred.n.missy@gmail.com
Website: https://missygrafe.wordpress.com/
Location: 18 Austin Road, Wilmington, DE, United States
Phone: 302-547-1336
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chapelcroft-Civic-Association-138182116230194/