NJ Officials Offer Mosquito Prevention Tips In Hot, Wet Summer

Your home should be a castle. Here’s how to defend it against those pesky skeeters, New Jersey.

Earlier this week, amid a wet spring and hot summer, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reminded property owners that there are several “common-sense steps” they can take to help reduce mosquito populations and the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses.

“To date this year, early season mosquito testing reveals that both Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile virus are circulating within mosquito populations in New Jersey,” DEP officials stated.

“Even with dry weather, diseases can be spread as mosquitoes and birds share the same water sources, making it even more important for the public to remove sources of standing water in their yards that can serve as mosquito breeding grounds,” officials said.

The DEP said that New Jersey residents, business owners and contractors can take the following steps to reduce mosquito populations on their properties:

• Empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels and cans at least once or twice a week.
• Clear clogged rain gutters.
• Check for and remove any containers or trash that may be difficult to see, such as under bushes, homes or around building exteriors.
• Use EPA-registered insect repellents when outdoors and wear protective clothing.
• Stay in air-conditioned places or rooms with window screens that prevent access by mosquitoes.
• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers that have accumulated on your property.
• Drill holes in the bottom and elevate recycling containers that are left outdoors.
• Repair and clean storm-damaged roof gutters, particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees tend to clog drains. Roof gutters can produce millions of mosquitoes each season.
• Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
• Avoid allowing water to stagnate in bird baths.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens become major mosquito producers if they stagnate.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, including those not in use. An untended swimming pool can produce enough mosquitoes to result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Be aware that mosquitoes may even breed in the water that collects on pool covers.
• Repair and maintain barriers, such as window and door screens, to prevent mosquitoes from entering buildings. Barriers over rain barrels or cistern and septic pipes will prevent female mosquitoes from laying eggs on water.

To learn more about the New Jersey Mosquito Control Commission and for links to county commissions, click here.

For more information on how to prevent mosquito bites and illness, click here.

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