Mosquito control program 'focused on prevention and treatment'

The city of Norwalk has a new mosquito control program."It's focused on prevention and treatment. In regards to prevention, we recommend to residents to prevent any standing water, also to maintain their pools and to keep their gutters clean. Also during peak hours, we recommend they wear repellent and long-sleeve shirts, especially from dusk to dawn," safety-service director Ellen Heinz said."In regards to treatment, if residents have standing water that they have questions about or think they should be treated because there might be mosquito larval in the water, then they should contact city hall."Norwalk residents with concerns about standing water should call the zoning department at 419-663-6700 ext. 4."When they call in, we will send out our zoning officer to inspect the standing water and if we do have evidence of mosquito larval in the water, we will issue them treatment," Heinz said.Only female mosquitoes bite and they feed on the blood of animals and humans, according to Huron County Public Health. Not all mosquitoes carry disease.Heinz was asked if standing water is a common complaint made to city hall."No, not at all actually. We've mirrored our program off some similar programs (that) similar counties are doing," she said.The safety-service director was asked if the current mosquito control program is different than ones in years past."We are focusing on prevention a little bit more. We are doing public service announcements in of course this story and wanting to reach out to the residents more. It's a little more formal than what we've had in the past and we look forward to partnering with other agencies, such as the health department, in the future to continue such programs," Heinz said. PULL-OUT BOXAvoiding mosquito bites• Clean up your yard: Empty and scrub out any containers that hold water. Cover open vents, plumbing pipes or open containers (such as trash cans and rain barrels). Use mosquito dunks on standing water that cannot be removed. Regular removal of leaf litter and tall grasses/brush is also important.• Keep bugs outside: Use screens on all windows and doors and stick to air conditioning when possible.• Protect yourself: Wear permethrin-treated long-sleeved shirts, pants, long socks and boots. Cover exposed skin with an EPA-registered insect repellent (20 to 30 percent DEET is best).Source: Huron County Public HealthHeinz