May 19, 2013
Leon County, Florida- July 20, 2012
Summer time in the South means hot weather, lots of humidity, and tons of mosquitoes.
But this year the mosquito population has exploded. The blood sucking insects are back in full force this year, and the problem is actually so much worse than in recent years that Leon County is taking some drastic steps.
This weekend the county will begin aerial spraying in the most effected areas, which are in the southern end of the county.
These spots picked up the most rain from Tropical Storm Debby last month. The volume of calls coming in to Leon County Public works is off the charts. In a typical year, they get about eight thousand calls fo mosquito spraying. Already, they've received more than ten thousand.
And as Leon County Public Works Director Dale Walker says, there is still a long way to go in the mosquito season.
Says Dale Walker: "If we get another tropical storm of hurricane, where you have these swamp mosquitoes, that essentially lay their eggs in the swamp, and the waters come in, as they rise, and you get the hatch off. But for the event we are currently under, this should be very effective."
The county will use a state contracted plane to spray the south end of the county, and should get a quick knock down of the mosquito problem there.
The aerial spray is scheduled from dusk on Saturday night until dawn on Sunday morning. After the weekend, spray trucks will resume normal spray operations around the county
