County Starts Effort Against Mosquitoes, West Nile

FRANKLIN COUNTY—Chances are, by now you’ve seen and felt the bite of pesky mosquitoes.

While they may be little more than an annoyance to you, health officials said they can be dangerous to your health.

NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.

Jon Grubbs, and his crew with Vector Disease Control, Inc spent their Tuesday morning collecting 38 mosquito traps set throughout Franklin County.

NBC 4 tagged along during Tuesday’s weekly collection.

Grubbs is a contract supervisor with Franklin County Board of Health’s mosquito management program.

When it comes to keeping residents safe from the insects, it all starts with the traps, Grubbs said. 

“It shows us not only how many mosquitoes are in a given area but we also take the mosquitoes back to our lab, and we can test them for diseases such as West Nile
virus,“ Grubbs said.

He said he hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary yet but doesn’t expect the first cases of West Nile to appear until late July.

If and when that happens, the traps will help determine where to spray.

How can you keep mosquitoes from breeding in your back yard?

Officials said the best thing you can do is get rid of standing, stagnate water—such as in bird baths and other objects—because that can be a magnet for mosquitoes.

“It doesn’t take much water, and it certainly doesn’t take much time,“ Grubbs said about mosquito breeding.

Click here for information on how county residents can file a complaint. Franklin County residents also can call 614-462-BITE.

Columbus residents can report a mosquito problem by calling the city’s 311 call center.

For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com—Where Accuracy Matters.
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