Tarrant County Public Health (TCPH) continues to conduct year-round mosquito surveillance efforts and will provide weekly reports regarding our efforts.

As in previous seasons, TCPH has made Gravid mosquito traps available to all Tarrant County cities. Cities set out their traps in strategic locations, collect samples of mosquitoes and deliver them to the TCPH laboratory or a contracted laboratory for testing to determine if there are mosquito pools in that area that contain West Nile Virus or the virus that causes St. Louis Encephalitis. Collectively, more than 150 traps are in use across the county. TCPH also sets traps and collects samples in the county’s unincorporated areas.

Experience has shown that we can prevent and control the growth of mosquitoes which serve as the vector for the spread of West Nile Virus, as well as diseases such as Chikungunya, Dengue fever, Yellow Fever and Zika virus.

Prevention is a key component. There is no way to predict what a mosquito season will be like, which means that everyone needs to do what they can to eliminate breeding sites around their homes, as well as use repellent and dress appropriately if they are outdoors wherever mosquitoes are most active.