HEALTH DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ANNUAL MOSQUITO CONTROL TREATMENT OF CATCH BASINS AND STORM DRAINS

NEW CITY, NY - - Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert inform residents that the Health Department will be treating catch basins and storm drains to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in standing water inside of these structures.

If you see staff on the roads in County vehicles driving slowly doing these treatments, please be patient. Also, try to avoid parking over storm drains while County staff are doing the treatment work so that they can access the catch basins more easily.

"Not all mosquitos carry diseases, but several species can sometimes spread potentially dangerous diseases like West Nile Virus, Zika Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) to humans," said Dr. Ruppert.

The best and most effective mosquito control begins in your yard. Eliminating standing water is the first step in reducing the mosquito threat. Residents can help by regularly checking their property for ANY items that can hold stagnant water, such as plant saucers, dog bowls, and birdbaths; and replace them with fresh water daily. Remove objects around your yard that collect water. Anything you choose to keep outside, such as kid's toys, buckets, wading pools, canoes, and wheelbarrows should be flipped over when not in use to prevent them from collecting any water.

Mosquitoes lay their eggs on or near stagnant (still) water, and their offspring (called larva) "grow up" in water before emerging as adult mosquitoes that fly and bite. Since the West Nile virus outbreak in 1999, the Health Department has been collecting, identifying, and tracking mosquitoes, both in their adult and larval stages, and providing education to the public to reduce the mosquito population.

The Mosquito Control Program focuses on reducing Rockland's mosquito population at the larval stage during the spring and summer months through the identification and monitoring of a variety of mosquito-breeding sites, including roadside catch basins. Program staff also conduct routine and complaint-based inspections at many commercial properties that are considered "high risk" for mosquito breeding, including tire-storage facilities, landscape yards, municipal storage yards, outdoor swimming pool facilities, horse farms, marinas, and garden centers, as well as respond to complaints against private residential properties.

For more information, call the Health Department at 845-364-3173 or visit http://bit.ly/2aXY0E4. To learn more about the West Nile Virus, Zika virus, and EEE, visit the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) webpages at https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/west_nile_virus/fact_sheet.htm, https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/zika_virus/, and https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/eastern_equine_encephalitis/fact_sheet.htm.