Dump Those Tires!
Advice About West Nile Virus from the Dutchess County Health Department

West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne infection that can cause encephalitis, and even kill. Individuals aged 50 and over are at highest risk for serious illness. Because West Nile Virus is spread by mosquitoes, protecting yourself against mosquito bites is the best way to avoid the transmission of the disease.

Dutchess County has been conducting an intensive campaign to reduce the population of certain species of mosquitoes. The first and most important objective is to eliminate and prevent mosquito breeding habitats. The particular species of mosquitoes that transmit West Nile prefer to breed in artificial containers with stagnant water. Most important among these is the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens, and the single greatest source of these disease carriers in the United States is old tires.

To reduce the mosquito population around your home, take the following steps to reduce or eliminate standing water:

• Dispose of old tires; if you cannot, don't leave them outside; keep them in a building. If tires must be stored outdoors, cover them with a tarp, plywood, or other covering to prevent water from accumulating inside tires. Drill holes in the bottom side of old tires to allow water to drain, or fill them with dirt or sand.

• Dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers.

• Drill drain holes in the bottoms of recycling containers that are kept outdoors.

• Make sure that your roof gutters drain properly, and clean them out in spring and fall.

• Turn over wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use; clean and properly chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor saunas and hot tubs; drain water from pool covers

• Change the water in bird baths twice a week.

• Clean vegetation and debris from the edges of ponds.

• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property.

• Make sure windows and doors have screens in good condition.