By Nancy Peckenham
Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have been found in the town of Newburgh and the Orange County Department of Health is advising residents to show caution when outdoors .
The Orange Co. Health Department says the mosquito population is larger this year.
Dr. Jean Hudson, the county health commissioner, did not identify the exact location where the virus-carrying mosquitoes were found in the town because, she said, the insects move around and don’t stay in one place. She said the mosquitoes were taken from traps that are part of a monitoring program conducted by Orange County Community College throughout Orange County.
As a result of the continuing monitoring of Orange County’s mosquito population by the Orange County Department of Health, two mosquitos pool carrying the West Nile virus have been found in the Town of Newburgh. She said that no human cases of West Nile Virus have been identified in Orange County this year.
Poorly maintained gutters and old tires can become mosquito breeding grounds.
“The discovery of West Nile in the mosquito population is a reminder that this virus is still present and a risk,” Dr. Hudson said, adding that residents should wear appropriate clothing and consider sprays when outdoors and check their property for any pooling or stagnant water.
Other tips from the health department include:
• Minimize outdoor activities between dusk and dawn.
• Wear shoes and socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt when you are outdoors for long periods of time, or when mosquitoes are most active.
• Consider using mosquito repellent when it is necessary to be outdoors, particularly during evening activities, e.g., fishing. Make sure to follow the directions on the label.
Old tires that collect water are hazardous during mosquito season.
Mosquitoes can breed in any stagnant water that lasts more than four days and monitoring this year indicates higher mosquito counts than in the past several years. To reduce the mosquito population around your home and property, take the following steps to reduce or eliminate standing water:
• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers.
• Drill drain holes in the bottoms of recycling containers that are kept outdoors.
• Make sure that your roof gutters drain properly, and clean clogged gutters in the spring and fall.
• Turn over wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
• Change the water in birdbaths twice a week.
• Remove all discarded tires from your property.
• Clean vegetation and debris from the edges of ponds, especially now that leaves are beginning to fall.
• Drain water from pool covers. Also, remove leaves and debris as they collect on covers to reduce breeding areas.
• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate.
For more information on mosquito prevention or protection, call the Orange County Department of Health at 291-2332.
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