The weather is warming and that means mosquitoes.
The Tulsa Health Department is asking the public to keep an eye on standing water.
“Mosquitoes can lay eggs and hatch into larvae within a week,” said Vector Control Coordinator Mandy Dixon. “So it’s very important if you have standing water in things like dog bowls or bird baths that it’s getting dumped and replaced frequently.”
West Nile Virus is the biggest concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, eight out of ten people with West Nile never show symptoms. Most who do get sick recover without incident. About one in 150 people will experience severe illness.
The last known cases of West Nile Virus in Tulsa were in 2019 with four sicknesses and one death.
Dixon said spraying will start once mosquito population data from around Tulsa County is collected.
“Right now we don’t have a schedule to spray because we haven’t identified a need yet. We’re starting this week to set traps throughout Tulsa County,” said Dixon.
Dixon also said the state is looking at the effectiveness of its treatment program.
“One thing we’re doing this year is doing resistance testing to see if the products we use are still working. If we need to switch up our products we’ll be able to identify that this year.”
Data will be available on THD’s website, as well as on Facebook and NextDoor. THD urges anyone outside during mosquito season to wear long sleeves and treat with DEET.