Beginning Thursday, May 18, the Perry Public Works Department will start spraying for mosquitoes every Thursday evening, weather permitting.
If it rains on a particular Thursday evening, then the city crews will spray on Friday or Saturday evening.
Perry residents can help reduce the size of the mosquito population. Wet weather creates pools of standing water, which is prime breeding habitat for mosquitoes. Residents should check their yards and drains for any standing water in planters, buckets, water barrels, stopped up gutters, tires and the like.
In the wet weather, residents will need to check for standing water at least once a week. Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, but it takes a week to 10 days for the eggs to hatch. As long as water does not stand for that long, then the mosquitoes can be somewhat controlled.
Some spots cannot be drained. If you know of an area where water consistently collects, call the Perry Street Department at 515-465-2675. The city can treat the standing water with a chemical that will keep mosquito larvae from maturing.
There is no way to eliminate mosquitoes entirely. Health experts recommend wearing repellent, particularly in the early morning and in the cool of the evening, when mosquitoes are most active.
For more information, call the Perry City Hall at 515-465-2481.
Have you noticed? No bees, no lightning bugs, no butterflies, fewer birds. Not like when we were kids. What are the chemicals that they are spraying? How is it metered and monitored? They spray from a truck on the street, but the intent is to reach backyards, so the town is enveloped in an insecticide cloud, at night, at a time of year when people sleep with their windows open. At least Perry is safe from a malaria outbreak this year.