CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With hurricane season underway, residents are normally prepared to see more rain and mosquitoes. But the City of Corpus Christi is taking a more proactive approach instead of reacting to mosquito populations.
Corpus Christi Animal Care Services Director Joel Skidmore has been monitoring the mosquito population since March. "We haven't really seen a large outbreak of mosquitoes," he said. "Which is great. We've even had some wet weather, which usually indicates the onset of mosquitoes."
Being proactive about controlling mosquito populations means that everyone needs to do their part. "There's a lot of things that we ask that citizens do to help us prevent a large increase of mosquitoes," said Skidmore, "and that's mowing high grass. That's where they like to stay."
Chief Hunter at Mosquito Hunters of Corpus Christi Lauren Harris echoes this sentiment. She said that maintaining your yard is essential this time of year and that strategies will vary from home to home.
"If you've got shrubs, trees, and some standing water, you're likely to have a lot more mosquitoes than maybe a neighbor that doesn't have any in their yard," Harris explained. "The only reason they have them, is because it's rained lately."
Harris told 3NEWS that standing water is the number one enemy. "Check your gutters. If they're clogged, that holds the standing water. Just a capful of water from a water bottle can hold up to 300 mosquito eggs," she added.
Once those eggs hatch, they feed on nectar that lies on the underside of broadleaf plants, which gives them the energy to repopulate rapidly. "We use our backpack blowers that have a mist," Harris said. "They are a great advantage to just something with a hose or a pump sprayer, because they can actually get under the underside of the leaves."
That method may not be required for many just yet. Skidmore said that each one of the known breeding areas is not registering a high concentration, so things are looking good in the Coastal Bend for now.
"I have daily meetings with our patrol officers and they come back and report everything's going good," he explained. "You may see them, one or two, but there's nothing that's increased to the point where we need to start the spraying."
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