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Mosquito Control
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Florence County Environmental Services conducts a complete mosquito control program that includes all aspects of total pest management practices.
Source reduction: Through the removal of discarded tires and the roadside litter by the prison inmate program, Environmental Services strives to reduce possible breeding sites in artificial containers. Some special projects are also conducted to improve drainage in county ditches that must be cleaned by hand.
Surveillance: Larval surveillance includes but is not limited to permanent water habitats such as rivers, small ponds, and creeks. Temporary flood water is standing water that may exist for short periods of time after high water or rainfall. Examples of this type of habitat would include bottom lands, woodland pools, swamps, ditches, tire ruts, and depressions.
Artificial containers/ tree holes are considered to be one of the more urban problems. Artificial containers occur everywhere. Anything that holds water can produce artificial container species. Old tires, cans, bottles, buckets, cups, pet water bowls, birdbaths, gutters, and abandoned swimming pools are common artificial containers. From this type of habitat comes one of the top pest species, the Asian Tiger Mosquito.
Adult surveillance is conducted during mosquito control season to determine the level of mosquito populations. Environmental Services benefits greatly from the Senior Citizen Surveillance program that monitors Light trap collections as well as landing rate counts and rainfall at locations around the county.
Chemical Control: Florence County utilizes an extensive larvacide program to pre-treat known areas of mosquito breeding with biological products that give extended control. If adulticiding is warranted, the county uses four truck mounted Ultra Low Volume sprayers to combat the problem. The county does not use a spray schedule but only operates the equipment whenever and wherever adult populations reach unacceptable levels. Citizens are asked to call the office and request a backyard mosquito control inspection or to register a complaint. Anyone who wishes not to be sprayed can ask that they be placed on the No-Spray list and truck spraying will be limited in that area. |
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Public Education
One of the biggest successes for a productive mosquito management program is public education. The backyard inspection and surveys provide positive instruction to our citizens in showing how they can reduce mosquito breeding in their own yards.
Florence County participates in West Nile Virus surveillance through the submittal of dead birds and the collection of mosquitoes. SC Department of Health and Environmental Control's laboratory reported Florence County first positive bird on November 5, 2002. Only dead crows and blue jays in good condition will be tested. Testing has ended for this year and details will be provided as they come available in the spring.
Check the DHEC site for more information. www.scdhec.net/HS/westnile/index.htm
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