How to protect yourself against mosquito-borne illnesses

That heavy rain over the weekend brought lots of standing water which can attract mosquitoes.

On Sunday, the Lee County Mosquito Control District will look for areas with standing water.

They have crews check for areas where the new standing water could be and test it. They are looking for mosquito larvae growing up in that water.

The Lee County Mosquito Control District has been doing pre-treatments over the last couple of weeks, but there could be places of standing water they did not treat yet.

You might see Mosquito Control trucks out searching on the ground or in the air by helicopter as they scout to see where they could potentially have mosquito problems.

It takes a day or two before mosquitos hatch, so it’s important the community takes this time to also check around their own homes for anywhere that could be holding water.

“People really should look around their homes and see if they have any containers, any debris, even a palm frond may have fallen down that’s tucked away behind their house. It’s holding water and is a potential breeding site. So bird baths, flower pots, anything like that that’s holding water, they should dump that water out,” said Eric Jackson, deputy director of the Lee County Mosquito Control District.

You should look around your home for anywhere that could have standing water and drain it. This will help reduce the number of likely mosquitoes and help protect you against mosquito-borne illnesses.

Other precautionary measures to prevent mosquito bites are covering your skin with clothes if you have to be outside where the mosquitoes are active, applying repellent, and covering your doors and windows with screens to keep the insect out of your home.

If you get bit, mosquito-borne illnesses’ symptoms include headache, fever, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, and confusion.

“It’s scary, especially with all the diseases, of course, going around. And this is just like a breeding ground all around our house in our homes with the kids across the street and ourselves. So it is very concerning. So I’m hoping the city, the county can maybe do something about that,” said Frances Gray, a Southwest Florida resident for 24 years.

The Lee County Mosquito Control District will be out on Sunday and Monday, inspecting and treating anywhere that could have mosquito larvae.