Foreclosures can make mosquito problem worse

Abandoned lots, pools yield breeding grounds for mosquitoes

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

photo Hunting for mosquitoes with Metro Pest Control

Homes abandoned to foreclosures have given rise to an unexpected side effect that will only get worse this summer: stagnant swimming pools and overgrown yards transforming into mosquito breeding grounds.

This year, early-season heat and rain could combine with predictions of an uptick in foreclosures to create the "buggy summer" officials dread. Already, the weather likely has allowed for an additional generation of mosquitoes to take flight, said Metro Public Health Department managers.

Metro's pest control division - a team of two - checks known breeding areas in the winter to kill as many mosquito larvae as possible. It's the best way to keep the population down and decrease the threat of West Nile virus, and it allows staffers to be ready to respond to called-in resident complaints, which rise along with temperatures, said Larry Cole, pest management director.

Read more at the Tennessean.