Politics & Government

County Mosquito Guy Talks Pest Control

Carlos Fernandes, director of Hillsborough County Mosquito Control, talks about the purpose of spraying and how often it occurs.

For decades, areas of Hillsborough County have been plagued by mosquitoes. To combat the flying pests, a chemical called biomist is used to help ease the problem, especially during summer months.

We recently talked to Carlos Fernandes, director of the county's mosquito control program, about how the process works and what residents need to know.

Patch: Tell us the history of the program.

Fernandes: It began in 1949, and initially, it was the people of Davis Islands (who paid for it) with money from their own pocket to establish a mosquito control in their area. That’s when we see the county budget for the first time that some money has been allocated for it. They used oil from cars and machines and sprayed it over ditches, and any accumulations of water to suffocate mosquitoes that needed water to develop. Their life cycle is to have water.

Patch: How bad is the issue in Hillsborough County?

Fernandes: We have 46 species in Hillsborough County of 75 in the state of Florida. Our situation is not bad or not worse than any other in the bay area. We are just lucky enough that we have one of the best mosquito control prpograms in the country. We rival with California.

Patch: How does the process work?

Fernandes:  We use biological control. We kill the larvae before it becomes a mosquito. Most of the time, we use our helicopter to spray bacteria that is going to be associated with the water to kill the larvae before they start flying. The spray trucks that come in the neighborhoods at night.

Patch: How often do you spray the chemicals?

Fernandes: Once a week, we make the evaluation on Tuesdays, and know if we are going to send a truck out. Sometimes, we send over 10 trucks. We have 13 trucks ready to spray. This county is very large. It's 1,100 square miles.  We have a contingency contract with a spray provider. The county doesn’t spend money up front, but if we need to use their services, they are ready to go out.

Patch: What do you want residents to know about what you do? 

Fernandes: All chemicals that we use are EPA-approved. They give their blessing to that chemical, if you apply on the rate on the label. We work with the lowest application rate. Our goal is to have at least 35 percent of the mosquito population reduced after one application. 


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