More Rains, More Mosquitoes for the City 

The abundant rainfall has been welcomed to the area for an end to the dry spell, but this is also a reminder to help prevent the spread of mosquitoes through our community, now that there are more sites for standing water that act as breeding areas.

Pat Mason, Lamar Public Works Director, replied to a question from The Prowers Journal on how the city is working to keep the mosquito population at a minimum.

“City crews have stepped up spraying efforts due to the increased precipitation, we are running two spray units simultaneously to cover more ground in less time as weather and wind conditions permit. We sprayed last night (Monday) and plan to spray again this weekend weather permitting. At a minimum we have been spraying at least once per week, but our goal has been to cover the city at least twice per week. We have also increased larvicide in Willow Creek since the creek has run a couple of times as of recently.

Even our best efforts to control the increased population of mosquitos can be futile without the public’s help in eliminating potential breeding habitat such as outdoor containers that hold water, it has been said that a coffee can full of water can breed as many as 10,000 mosquitos in a season, residents can make huge impact simply by eliminating objects that hold water longer than 3 days in their own backyards.”