Westchester Has More Free Minnows for Somers, Yorktown Residents May 20, 21

Back by popular demand, the Westchester County Health Department will give away another 200 pounds of fathead minnows this week to Westchester property owners who have ornamental ponds, to keep these bodies of water from becoming mosquito breeding sites.

The health department already had distributed 200 pounds of minnows to 120 people during the first week of May, but has continued to receive calls from interested property owners.

Residents with ponds who want the minnows to prevent mosquitoes from proliferating should bring a bucket or a pail to Loop Road, Building two at the Westchester County Airport between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Wednesday or Thursday.

The building is the first right from the airport access road. The minnows will be distributed in watertight plastic bags.

“Interest in this natural strategy has been strong this year,” said Peter DeLucia, Assistant Commissioner for Public Health Protection. “We know these fish can eat many times their weight in mosquito larvae and they can often last for several seasons. They’re great little soldiers in the fight against West Nile Virus.”

The minnows reduce the mosquito population by eating mosquito larvae and pupae before they emerge into adult mosquitoes. They thrive in ornamental ponds and can help reduce the spread of West Nile Virus because culex pipiens, the mosquito that can be a carrier of West Nile Virus, breeds in standing water, such as ponds and containers. They should be released right away into ponds that have a minimum of eight to twelve inches of water.

The minnows are a small part of the county’s mosquito control efforts, which include applying larvicide to county catch basins and encouraging residents to dump out standing water on their property after every rainfall.

The health department started larviciding May 1 in the southern part of the county and teams will work their way north, evaluating and treating as needed all catch basins on county and municipal roads throughout the county over the next few months. The larvicide comes in a solid chunk, about the size of a charcoal briquette, and is placed in catch basins that hold standing water and are free of leaves and other debris.

Large areas of standing water on public property that cannot easily be removed should be reported to the Health Department by calling (914) 813-5000.

“It’s important that we all do our part to curb the mosquito population by eliminating standing water from containers around our homes,” said Sherlita Amler, MD, Commissioner of Health. “This will help protect your family from the mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus. Please look closely around your property and empty standing water from any discarded tires, unchlorinated swimming pools, pottery, pails, birdbaths or other containers throughout the spring and summer.”