While repellents may be effective at preventing the itchy bite of a mosquito, you can eliminate these pests before they reach adulthood by treating or removing areas of standing water where their eggs hatch and larvae live.
By keeping an eye out for potential mosquito breeding sites and addressing them effectively, we can work together to control the local mosquito population on public and private property.
What the city does:
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We build stormwater treatment and management facilities that are designed to adhere to widely accepted standards and practices. As part of these standards, the facilities should not hold water for long enough for a mosquito to reproduce. Mosquitoes eggs and larvae must stay in stagnant water for nearly a week to survive to adulthood. Most stormwater facilities, such as rain gardens and bioretention cells, are designed to hold water for less than a week. This allows them to dry out before the mosquitoes reach adulthood.
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Larger regional facilities such as wetlands and lakes hold water permanently. In normal conditions, the water in these areas flows or has waves, which kills the mosquito larvae. These areas and areas like detention ponds and creeks are bordered by habitats for predators that feed on mosquitoes, such as dragonflies, fish, bats, birds, frogs and water bugs. Healthy wetlands also provide a thriving home for mosquito predators.
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During dry summer months, water can become low and stagnant in areas like creek beds or concrete channels. When mosquito larvae are discovered on city property, staff uses doughnut-shaped briquets that contain a bacteria toxic to mosquito larvae to kill the larvae before they reach maturity. These bacteria are not toxic to pets, fish, humans and other wildlife and can be purchased at many area hardware stores or online.
What you can do:
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Address sources of standing water on your property by either emptying the container regularly or using bacterial insecticide, which is safe, inexpensive and available at many hardware stores. Common sources of standing water include:
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Prevent mosquito bites by using bug spray and wearing long sleeves and pants.
Helpful links
EPA Mosquito Control: useful information about mosquito prevention, repellents and control methods.
Johnson County Mosquito Surveillance Project: Learn about how the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment monitors the presence of potentially disease-spreading mosquito species and how you can protect yourself from mosquito-borne illnesses.
Frequently asked questions