Prevention of Mosquito Breeding

We have received information listed in the links below, issued from the Rockland County Department of Health County Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert about the prevention of mosquito breeding:

Help Control Mosquitoes that Spread Dengue, Chikungunya,and Zika Viruses
Mosquito Bite Prevention
Pregnant? Zika Info
Talking to Children About Zika

En Espanol:
Ayude a controlar los mosquitos que transmiten los virus del dengue, chikungunya y Zika
Prevención de picaduras de mosquitos (Estados Unidos)
¿Embarazada?

An Kreyol:
Ede Kontwole Marengwen ki Simaye Viris Lafyèv Deng, Chikoungounya, ak Zika
Pa Kite Maregwen Mòde w (Etazini)
Èske ou ansent?

Controlling the mosquito population and mosquito bites takes on added importance, as the Zika virus is beginning to emerge as a worldwide threat to public health. 

In other parts of the world, including Central and South America, the Zika virus has been mainly spread by a mosquito bite from the species Aedes aegypti, which is not present in New York State. However, a related species of mosquito, Aedes albopictus (also known as the Asian Tiger Mosquito) is present in Rockland, as well as in New York City, Nassau, Putnam, Orange, Suffolk and Westchester counties. 

In warm weather mosquitoes become active, and there may be a small risk of locally acquired cases in parts of New York where Aedes albopictus is present, such as in Rockland County.  The virus can also be spread by sexual contact, and by a pregnant mother to herfetus (infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe brain defects). 

The Health Department mosquito control teams will treat mosquito breeding sites such as swamps and storm drains to kill the mosquitoes breeding there, as they have done as part of our comprehensive mosquito control program since the West Nile virus outbreak in 1999.  However, they will need all of us to help fight the Aedes albopictus (Asian Tiger) mosquito since they prefer to breed in any containers that can hold water on your property, even in less than one ounce of water (about two tablespoons), such as the cap to a bottle of drinking water.  In fact, according to Rutgers University, one child’s toy left outdoors could produce nearly 1,200,000 mosquitoes in a single summer! 

Additional resources may be found: