North Walton Mosquito Control covers 745 square miles
Please use the SHARE buttons to forward this news Director Brenda Hunt and Environmental Manager Scott Caraway. Story by Adrianne Walline Campbell The North Walton Mosquito Control was created in 1987 and is governed by the Walton County Board of County Commissioners. It is located at 581 Triple G Road, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433. Their website is https://www.co.walton.fl.us/192/Mosquito-Control. Their coverage area is from the north side of the Choctawhatchee Bay to the Alabama line, excluding the Eglin reservation, 745 square miles. This includes the city of Freeport, DeFuniak, and Paxton. There are 7 full-time and 2 part-time employees, 8 spray trucks, 1 service truck, and 1 SUV. They receive funding from the county ad valorem tax of .4912, and state aid funds. This year’s budget is $948,298. The methods used are: • Larviciding – BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis) – Naturally occurring bacteria used as a larvicide to kill larvae before they can grow into adults. They check various locations of standing water for larvae and spray as needed. • Adulticiding – Permethrin, used to kill adult mosquitoes. • They have 22 light traps to count how many mosquitoes are in what section. It also lets them know what kind of species exist and where. Currently there are about 40 different types, 10 are the most common. They have 2 individuals who can identify the types. The state provides training classes. • They have 8 Sentinel chicken coops, each with 6 chickens, scattered throughout the area. They do blood tests weekly...
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