It's all about the mosquito even during the colder and drier winter months in Miami-Dade County

Mosquito Control Division continues preventative larviciding treatments, inspections, and a robust surveillance program through the milder, drier winter months. With the County still under a mosquito-borne illness alert and the continued threat of locally spread dengue, spray routes targeting mosquito larvae are essential to control the mosquito population.

Mosquito surveillance is conducted using 320+ mosquito traps set throughout Miami-Dade. Data collected from mosquito traps provide inspectors with the mosquito population, species, gender, and whether mosquitoes identified carry any infectious diseases. This information helps determine treatment applications.

Inspections of homes and businesses within Miami-Dade County are conducted by highly trained and licensed professionals at no additional cost to residents. County inspectors look for mosquito breeding and adult mosquitoes on site and proceed to eliminate them if found.

Residents are encouraged to follow these tips to help keep mosquitoes from breeding and biting:

• Drain any standing water found on your property that can facilitate breeding
• Cover exposed skin with clothing or a mosquito repellent containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR-3535
• Discard any objects, not in use and that can pool water, such as toys, planters, tires, or home appliances
• Install fine mesh screening on doors, windows, porches, or patios, and keep them in a good state
• Regularly add the larvicide Bti in granular form to bromeliads and in dunk form to fountains or decorative ponds
• Periodically, clear out rain gutters to keep them from clogging and facilitating breeding
• Change out the water in outdoor pet dishes and birdbaths once a week to disrupt the mosquito life cycle
• Ensure that car and boat tarps are installed and stored correctly so that they do not accumulate rain or irrigation water
• Add sand to tree and lawn holes to prevent them from collecting water

Residents can request an inspection by calling 311 via the 311Direct website or the 311Direct mobile application.