Fight Mosquitos With Minnows From Westchester County

HARRISON, NY — Keep mosquitoes from breeding and biting you in your own yard. Westchester County health officials will give away free minnows and mosquito dunks for the next two weekends, plus advice and strategies to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus.

Residents with ornamental ponds can add fathead minnows to the water. The minnows eat mosquito larvae, preventing them from maturing into biters.

Dunks serve the same purpose in birdbaths, rain barrels and unused pools.

Residents who plan to pick up minnows should bring a bucket or pail. The Health Department will distribute the minnows in watertight plastic bags. To keep the minnows viable, residents should bring them straight home and release them immediately into ponds with at least eight inches of water.

“With their hearty appetites, this baitfish can keep mosquitos from breeding in your pond and biting you in your own backyard," said Sherlita Amler, MD, Commissioner of Health.

Don't have an ornamental pond or an unused pool? Any resident can help reduce the mosquito population, even without minnows, just by removing standing water around the yard, covering trash containers kept outside and draining birdbaths twice a week. Draining standing water even means finding litter like plastic bottlecaps.

Amler added: “Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in a puddle, a flowerpot saucer or an old tire, so after it rains, pour out standing water and clear your yard and the pavement around your home of buckets, wheelbarrows and toys that hold standing water.”

A total of 450 pounds of minnows will be available at the Westchester County Airport, 2 Loop Road, West Harrison, 10604, as follows:

• Friday, May 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Friday, May 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday, May 18, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

And by the way, any large areas of standing water on public property that cannot easily be removed should be reported to the Health Department at (914) 813-5000.

For more information, download the “Westchester County Cares Bug Off” brochure on the West Nile Virus page.