Fight the bite - even in the fall

The holidays are upon us as evidenced by Christmas and Hanukah decorations on store shelves. While we can officially say goodbye to the oppressive summer heat, we unfortunately are not able to say goodbye and good riddance to pesky mosquitoes.

Miami-Dade County remains under a mosquito-borne illness alert with both West Nile Virus and dengue virus making the rounds.

Mosquito Control doesn’t take a season off, fly south for the winter, or otherwise scale back because of the change in weather.

The threat of mosquito bites and the potentially serious diseases they may carry is real all year long. Follow some simple tips to protect yourself and your family.

• Eliminate standing water around your home to prevent mosquito breeding
• Get rid of items in your yard that could collect rain or irrigation water
• Use an EPA-registered repellent to prevent bites
• Cover exposed skin with long-sleeved shirts, pants, socks and hats
• Use the larvicide Bti in dunk form for fountains, and granule form in bromeliads
• Refresh / replace the water in outdoor pet dishes and birdbaths weekly
• Cover windows, doors and porches with fine mesh screening, cribs with mosquito netting
• Periodically ensure that rain gutters are not clogged