Thwart Mosquitos from Breeding Around Your House in Nyack, Piermont

The Rockland County Health Department will begin treating catch basins and storm drains next week to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the standing water inside of these structures.

“Mosquitoes can carry several diseases, including West Nile Virus and dog heartworm. Even the smallest amount of standing water can serve as a breeding site. Mosquitoes lay eggs in these sites and they hatch within a few days,” said County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.

Work will continue throughout the county into the first week of June.

If you see staff on the roads in county vehicles driving slowly doing these treatments, please be patient, County Executive Ed Day and Ruppert asked in a written statement.

Also, try to avoid parking over storm drains while county staff are doing the treatment work so that they can access the catch basins more easily.

Follow these tips to help prevent mosquitoes:

• Check your property for ANY items that can hold water. Even small items, such as drinking cups or soda cans, can produce mosquitoes. Get rid of the items or empty the water out at least once a week.
• If you have a swimming pool that is not in use, drain the water off the cover or treat this standing water with Mosquito Dunks®. They contain bacteria that kill mosquitoes in their larval stage in water, before they become flying, biting adults. The dunks are available free of charge at the Health Department, Building D, 50 Sanatorium Road in Pomona, Monday - Friday, from 9 am to 4 pm, while supplies last. It is important to know the size of your pool when coming to pick up your dunks.
• Drill drain holes in the bottoms of recycling containers, turn over wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use, and remove all discarded tires.
• Make sure that roof gutters drain properly.
• Clear vegetation and debris from the edges of ponds and remove leaf debris from yards and gardens.
• Make sure that all windows and doors have screens and that all screens are in good repair.

To learn more, visit the Health Department webpage or call at 364-3173.