MOSQUITOS

Those flying, pesky, irritating critters are a tiny part of living in Tallahassee.  Leon County Mosquito Control offers a full service program of free inspections, treatment of breeding areas, and elimination of adults.  Mosquitoes can breed in just about any puddle of standing water, even in cupped leaves like the Magnolia trees.  These cupped leaves trap water.  A mosquito can go from egg to adult in only three annd a half days.  It's very important to stay on top of standing water elimination.  Dump out plant saucers, bird baths, rain gutters and the like.  Plants such as bromeliads can be flushed out with a garden hose.  Residents can request treatment of large areas of standing water, such as drainage ditches and stormwater ponds.  Those residents that have yard-ponds can receive free a mosquito-eating fish.

Once mosquitoes reach adulthood they are a true menace.  Their buzzing and biting is annoying, and they can trasmit diseases.  Mosquito Control actively tracks mosquito borned disease by using "sentinel" chickens placed in flocks around the county and periodically checked.

Leon County Mosquito Control has lots of information about this pest, including the fact that Florida is home to 73 species of mosquitoes, of which about a dozen are considered a public-health concern.  Scientists estimate there are 40,000 mosquitoes for every human being alive on earth.  More people have died from mosquito-borne diseases than killed in all the world's wars.  The area on which Doak Campbell Stadium now sits, was a wetland, originally drained for mosquito-control purposes.

Since mosquitoes are drawn to your breathe, consider deflecting them with an electric fan. Also, consider hanging a fabric softener sheet near, but not touching outdoor light fixtures.  It should keep flying insects such as mosquitoes and moths away.  They hate the scents generated when the softener sheets are heated.

To learn more, and to schedule a home yard spray, or street spray, go to www.leoncountyfl.gov/mosquito