HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — In the wake of yesterday’s storm, a different type of cloud is looming over the sunshine state.
Right now, with the waters receding, Hillsborough County faces a ticking clock to prevent a mosquito invasion.
With the clouds gone, the real storm is beginning to brew. Hillsborough County has a narrow window to act: three to four days to launch their counterattack and spray the area to prevent the mosquito problem from escalating.
Hillsborough County said they are dealing with more than 40 different types of mosquitoes countywide. They are using every tool at their disposal, from buffalo turbine trucks on the ground to choppers in the air to treat coastal areas.
But the biggest pest still lingering is the shallow standing water, where mosquitoes breed at a rapid rate.
The county urges draining any standing water, from gutters to flowerpots, no container is too small to elude attention.
Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Manager, David Fiess, said the bulk of these issues originate from people not draining water.
"I would say 80% of the requests that we receive are because my inspectors come out, they find pots with water, milliard plants, the bird baths are nasty," he said. "Any type of those waters is going to breed these types of mosquitoes. They only need a quarter inch of water to go through their life cycle from egg to pupa to adult."
The county said it’s up to all of us to keep the mosquito problem under control.
One simple step you can take right now is cleaning up any debris and drain any standing water.
They are hosting a mosquito fish giveaway along with a science fair on Saturday at the public works building.
Visitors can learn about all the different types of mosquitoes along with the tools the county is using to combat the problem. The event starts at 8 a.m.