Two traps in the City of Chamblee tested positive for West Nile Virus, the city announced this week. The traps are located on Longview Drive near Huntley Hills Swim Club and Skyland Drive near 8th St.
The DeKalb County Board of Health monitors the traps all year. According to Gordon Stacey Cargal, Environmental Health County Supervisor, “In late June or July, once the traps turn positive, they monitor them once a week.”
Other precautions the county takes are door to door education about the virus and putting a larvacide in storm drains and retention ponds, which lasts throughout the mosquito season.
Juanette Willis, a mosquito expert also with the Board of Health, offers these tips, “The best way to eliminate mosquitoes is to get rid of the places they can breed.”
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“Mosquitoes need standing water to breed,” she said. “By simply eliminating the stagnant water around your home, you will have an enormous impact on the mosquito population.”
The most common breeding sites include bird baths, clogged gutters, unused wading pools, bottle caps, buckets, flower pots, tires and pet dishes. By replacing the water in things like bird baths and pet dishes at least twice a week, you can prevent thousands of mosquitoes from being born.
For more information, contact the DeKalb County Board of Health, on-line at www.dekalbhealth.net and by phone at 404-508-7871 or 404-508-7900.
