Mobile County Health Department begins mosquito spraying

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Mobile County Health Department will begin nighttime spraying for mosquitoes this week throughout the city of Mobile and county.

The department said it has mosquito traps placed throughout the county to help determine the correct moment to begin nighttime spraying to deal with the insects and recent collections indicated that trap counts have reached a threshold that requires control activities to begin.

Mobile County has been divided into 50 spray zones. Areas to be treated are determined by trap data, complaints, and observations by an MCHD inspector, the department said.

The MCHD has a Cessna 182Q airplane that will spray insecticides along coastal areas and in other places that are inaccessible by truck. The plane will be used to control saltwater mosquitoes,

“MCHD provides a comprehensive program through its Vector Services department. This includes mosquito surveillance, disease surveillance, public health education, larviciding (larvae control), and adulticiding (adult mosquito control) to track, monitor, and control mosquitoes,” said Dr. Kevin Philip Michaels, Health Officer for Mobile County. “Vector Services also assesses the potential for mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus (WNV), Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), and St. Louis Encephalitis through its sentinel chicken program.

“There are more than 50 species of mosquitoes in Mobile County and in past years some mosquito pools have tested positive for these mosquito-borne diseases.”

The chicks are placed in 13 strategically located coops throughout the county once they reach maturity. In 2023, there were 488 samples submitted. Eight chickens tested positive for West Nile Virus, according to the health department.

Residents can call 251-690-8124 or email at VectorServices@mchd.org to submit a mosquito complaint to Vector Services.

To learn more about the spraying, visit the Mobile County Health Department’s site here.