Release from Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management:
Montgomery County officials and the Texas Department of State Health Services have scheduled aerial spraying in response to increased mosquito populations affecting recovery work following Hurricane Beryl. Spraying will begin at dusk on Tuesday evening and continue throughout the night, weather permitting. In case of weather delays, spraying will be rescheduled for the next available evening and continue as needed.
On July 30, 2024, spraying will occur in Montgomery County. Hurricane Beryl and recent rains created large areas of standing water where mosquitoes can lay their eggs. To address increasing numbers of mosquitoes and the risk they pose to the recovery effort and public health, the Texas Department of State Health Services activated its contract with Vector Disease Control International for mosquito control equipment and services, including application of insecticide registered by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in public health mosquito control programs. The small amount of insecticide, between one and two tablespoons per acre, does not pose a health risk to people, pets or the environment. People may prefer to stay inside and close windows and doors when spraying takes place. If you have bee hives, make appropriate preparations for the spraying (cover hives with a loose cloth or tarp that allows air flow. Also place a metal mesh screen material that bees cannot pass through across the hive entrance).
Most mosquitoes that appear after floods are nuisance mosquitoes that do not spread disease but can have a serious effect on recovery operations by preventing responders and people affected by a disaster from being outside. Areas of standing water can also increase the number of mosquitoes capable of spreading diseases like West Nile virus.
People can help control mosquitoes during the recovery effort by dumping out standing water around their homes and businesses and applying commercially available larvicide in water that can’t be drained. People should also avoid mosquito bites by using an EPA-registered mosquito repellent every time they go outside and making sure their window and door screens are in good repair after the storm to keep mosquitoes out of homes.
