Mosquito hotline: Please call 918-338-4150 to report mosquito control needs or related information.
With summer heat comes mosquito season and, in recent years, a concern about the threat of the mosquito-borne West Nile Virus in northeast Oklahoma. The best known solution for controlling mosquitoes is to eliminate their habitat and standing water is their primary breeding ground. The City of Bartlesville’s mosquito control program contains two primary components: mosquito fogging and applying larvicide to standing water on city-owned property. This simple strategy effectively eliminates mosquito breeding grounds on city property.
However, to be effective, property owners need to take measures to control mosquito propagation on private property. The City recommends that property owners:
- Eliminate standing water from all containers, no matter how small, such as buckets, wheelbarrows, flower pots, potted plant drain pans, boat and equipment tarps;
- Store boats with a cover or upside down;
- Remove yard waste, such as old tires that may hold water, if only in small pools;
- Clean out gutters and down spouts to let water run freely;
- Replace water daily in wading pools, bird baths and pet watering bowls. Mosquitoes that are most likely to carry the West Nile Virus do not breed in fresh or flowing water.
- Keep the lawn cut short and shrubbery trimmed. Adult mosquitoes like to stay out of the sun because it dries out their bodies and kills them, so they rest in tall grass and shaded areas;
- Fill-in low spots in the yard to prevent standing water.
The City of Bartlesville recommends that individuals use mosquito repellents according to the directions provided by manufacturers and limit outdoor activities at dawn and dusk which is the main feeding time for mosquitoes. Learn more about mosquito control and its benefits to curbing the spread of the West Nile Virus, by visiting the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
For more information about the city’s efforts to curb the mosquito population in Bartlesville, call Bartlesville Parks and Recreation at (918) 338-4154.