Community center hosts mosquito awareness program

With reports of West Nile virus popping up around North Texas, including nearby Plano and Flower Mound, municipalities have been taking action to curb the mosquito population with chemical sprays and awareness campaigns.

It's no different here in The Colony, where the Community Center at 5151 North Colony Boulevard will host a mosquito awareness presentation at 6 p.m. today titled, "Fight the Bite/Learn How." The program will be presented by Board Certified Entomologist Patrick Prather, who is also the city's mosquito-control contractor.

Parks Department staffer Jerry Young, who monitors the city's mosquito population, said today's program is part of the city's initial effort to be proactive in preventing mosquito-related problems.

"Education, education, education, that's the best thing we can do," he said. "A lot of people have a lot of questions about (mosquitoes) but a lot of the things they hear are myths."

The program will highlight steps homeowners can take to clear their property of the needle-nosed pests, such as eliminating sources of standing water like tires and dog bowls, Young said. The program also will provide information about repellants.

Young and Prather have been trapping and testing mosquitoes within the city limits for some time. Samples are sent to a lab in Tarrant County for analysis. Once the results report a minimum of two positive tests for West Nile virus, the city will enact Level 3 of its mosquito-control program, which includes the use of chemical sprays in affected areas. The last time there was a confirmed case of West Nile virus in The Colony was three years ago in the ditch line around the Aquatic Park, Young said.

For now, the parks department is using larvacide in an effort to clean ditch lines throughout the city.

"We want to knock 'em down before they get up in the air," Young said. "We've been very fortunate not to have had (West Nile confirmed) already. Some counties are being overrun."

The public is encouraged to attend today's free event. There will be a question-and-answer session after the presentation.

For information, contact Young at 469-853-1222.

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