DORAL, Fla. – Miami-Dade County is looking to get a handle on mosquitoes amid recent rounds of wet weather during the peak mosquito season.
Officials said Monday that crews plan to work throughout the night, seven days a week to get to sites they think are potential mosquito breeding sites.
Officials are also looking to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The majority of cases in Miami-Dade, a national leader in dengue cases, are travel-related as global health leaders track an explosion of cases across Latin America and the Caribbean.,
Miami-Dade Department of Solid Waste Management Mosquito Control Division Director John-Paul Mutebi said in addition to conducting mosquito species surveillance of flooded areas to track which species are present and if any are invasive, staffers will be working around the clock to target areas of standing water with larvicide to mitigate against a mosquito population explosion.
In addition to their annual hot spot areas, this season the effort includes any areas featuring stagnant water that has yet to recede since last week’s deluge.
He reminded residents to “drain and cover” in their homes: Make sure there is no standing water, ranging from house gutters and pool covers to toys and pool covers.
He also suggested wearing insect repellent during mosquito season.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks dengue cases county-by-county on its website.