“We try to get at it early and then once we’re in season, we’re trying to control the activity that we do see.”
On Thursday, Milford Health Director Deepa Joseph explained how the city is preparing once again for mosquito season. Joseph was joined by partners from the city and state, as well as All Habitat Services as the company sprayed natural standing water at the Milford Land Conservation Trust.
John Shepard of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station set up one of two mosquito monitoring stations in Milford. Those two stations are among 108 around the state designed to trap the bugs so experts can monitor for West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). West Nile tends to show up in June while EEE appears in mosquitos in August.
“When it does pop up, either of those two viruses, you have to think about them on a regional aspect,
Shepard said.
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With mild winters and lots of rain, they hope to reduce any chance of extra mosquitos this year. And they remind people to drain standing water, dress lightly, and defend by using a repellant.
“It’s really annoying, yeah,” said Angel Taipe, who was at East Rock Park Thursday.
While industry experts are doing what they can by treating problem areas and setting up monitoring stations for the season, people here in the park say they’re doing what they can to protect themselves here and at home.
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“When it gets bad like in June, it just gets really bad for the rest of the year,” said Deborah Linehan of New Haven.
Linehan says she uses repellant towelettes when she’s outside instead of sprays and checks her garden every day.
“I don’t keep any standing water. I do have a bird fountain, but I do put a cover over it.”
