Mosquito Season Begins and What to Do About it

The next several days are filled with rain and in our community that means that the drainage ditches will fill with water - the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitos.

The Village of New Douglas purchased mosquito dunks last year and made an attempt several times to engage members of the community to get these free and install them in the ditches in front or behind their homes. An instruction sheet was developed for effective use of this expensive larvicide to ensure that effective installation of the dunks would provide the best means to stop the mosquito population.

The dunks are safe for people, pets, and plants but must be secured with a bamboo skewer to keep them from being washed away and then we lose the purpose for the dunks - to kill the larva of the mosquito. Only one dunk is needed every 50 feet of ditch but then must be secured - just throwing them in the ditch will not stop the mosquito growth. A dunk can be broken into small pieces enclosed in a plastic bag and hit with a hammer to make dunk dust to put in flower pot bases, bird waterers, and other places that might hold water in your yard.

Village residents only can get mosquito dunks from village officials or call the Village office and leave a message. The dunks will be handed out at the next several Village Board Meetings - the next one is March 21st at the Community Center beginning at 7 p.m.