Hillsborough County will spray for adult mosquitoes by air from Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Friday, Oct. 30. Contractors and Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services will do the work between sunset and midnight.
Airplanes will fly at 300 feet and apply Dibrom insecticide. They will treat about 225,000 acres from Carrollwood to FishHawk Ranch. The application rate is .66 ounces per acre.
The treatment area includes Brandon, Bloomingdale, Riverview, Plant City, Mango/Seffner, Dover, Thonotosassa, Gibsonton, Apollo Beach, Boyette and Fish Hawk. It also includes many Tampa neighborhoods.
The county says this year has an unusually high number of dengue fever cases in humans and in mosquitoes. County mosquito traps in many neighborhoods show dengue virus activity. The county works with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County on the response.
The county asks residents to follow the 3 Ds:
- Dress in light-colored, long-sleeved clothing with closed-toed shoes.
- Defend with an insect repellent that has a CDC-recommended ingredient, such as DEET, Picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
- Dump or cover standing water.
Old tires can breed mosquitoes. Hillsborough Solid Waste customers can drop off up to 12 tires a year at no cost. They can use any of the county's five Solid Waste collection sites.
Residents can sign up for alerts about aerial treatments in their neighborhood. The county also has an online map of treatment areas.
