Tulsa County Ready To Prevent Mosquito Population From Growing

Tulsa County will soon set out the first mosquito traps of the season; they’re hoping everyone in Green County helps prevent the population from growing this year.

Before the trucks head out to help control the mosquito population, Scott Meador and the Tulsa County Health Department will be setting out traps to surveil the area.

Marty: "What are we looking at? What are these weird things?"
Meador: "These are some of our mosquito traps here."

The bait is stinky bio-waste-water - ideal for attracting mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus. A gallon gets poured in each trap, and, once lured in, a fan sucks them inside.

"They get sucked up into the net," Meador explained.

Giving county experts a real-time look at where the mosquitoes are most rampant and if any have the West Nile Virus.

Meador said, "They give us a snapshot, an overnight snapshot, of what adult mosquitoes are out biting at that time."

Of course, they can't kill them all and need residents to canvas their property.

"If you lessen the amount of water that you have out there, the less mosquitoes you have," Meador said.

Meador has been with the department for 10 years; he's even seen mosquito larva laid in a pop bottle cap.

"As long as it can hold water that long, it can breed mosquitoes," he said.

The larva needs just five days to hatch - which is why going out and dumping all standing water is key.

Some mosquitoes can't leave your backyard, others can make it a few miles, so if your neighborhood or small Green Country town is proactive, you could have fewer bites.

Meador said, "If you can get rid of the water in Checotah then you can maybe get rid of some mosquitoes."

Tulsa County has their fleet of trucks ready to go should they detect an increase in the mosquito population.

On top of clearing away puddles of water, make sure that you are using some type of spray with DEET in it to make sure you don't get bit and infected with the virus.