Mosquito Monitoring Traps Placed In Montgomery Co.

NORRISTOWN, PA — Health officials in Montgomery County are placing mosquito monitoring traps around the county to get a better picture of how the area is being impacted by the bloodsuckers and the diseases they carry.

The county's Public Health office has dispatched their environmental services field team to "targeted locations" throughout the county.

Typically, those are areas that have seen West Nile Virus activity in the past, or are at high risk of large mosquito populations. It includes areas near creeks, rivers, parks, green spaces, and other areas where standing water can gather.

"These traps are used to monitor mosquito activity, identify areas of concern, and help guide mosquito control efforts to protect public health," the county's department of health shared.

Mosquito numbers in Montgomery County and the surrounding area have been increasing in recent years, along with the number of West Nile cases.

The county is currently in a "moderate" risk, according to the state.

While there are a few factors in play, climate change is the overwhelming cause of the increase in mosquito activity, according to scientists and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Shorter winters and longer summers give mosquitoes more time to breed, and more severe storms create larger areas of standing water, which mosquitoes need to breed.

The Montgomery County Office of Public Health offers the following tips to stay safe and to eliminate mosquito breeding areas:

• Wear protective clothing such as long pants, long sleeve shirts, and socks
• Spray permethrin, an insecticide product, on clothing, shoes and gear, but not directly on your skin
• Mosquitoes will breed in any stagnant water that stands for five or more days, so it's important to identify and eliminate all sources of standing water
• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic posts or similar water holding containers
• Pay special attention to discarded tires that may have collected water
• Drill holes in the bottom of recycling container that are left outdoors
• Have clogged roof gutters cleaned on an annual basis, particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees have a tendency to block drains
• Turn over plastic wading pools when not in use
• Turn over wheelbarrows and do not allow water to stagnate in birdbaths
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish
• Keep swimming pools clean and chlorinated as a swimming pool that is left untended becomes a source of mosquito breeding