With standing water left from Hurricane Milton leading to more mosquitoes, Polk County Mosquito Control plans to increase aerial spraying starting tonight.
The department is working with the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services to spray between dusk and dawn (8 p.m. to 5 a.m.) Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Polk County announced. Weather permitting the spraying could be extended for more days.
Spraying is expected all over Polk, but target areas include northwest Polk and portions of Lakeland that were hardest hit by Milton’s floodwaters, Dr. Jackson Mosley, Polk County’s Mosquito Control director, told News Channel 8. The chemicals sprayed from the planes kill adult mosquitoes, he said.
Also: FEMA opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Bartow at the W.H. Stuart Center, 1702 South Holland Parkway. People affected by Hurricane Milton can get one-on-one assistance with applications from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, including weekends; no word on how long the center will be open.
The spraying is being done with the advise of county health officials and in response to requests from residents, county officials said.
The spraying is taking place at night because fewer residents are outdoors then, the county said in its news release.
Mosley suggested going inside if you see low-flying planes spraying chemicals. If you are exposed to the chemicals, just wash it off, he said, adding the amounts are small. “They use about two tablespoons, one ounce per acre. You think of a football field as an acre,” he told the TV station.
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