How Fredville Fights the Bite
Mosquito season in Fredville runs from April through October. During those months, city crews ground-spray on Thursday and Friday nights, weather allowing, in neighborhoods where mosquito samples have tested positive for disease.
Mosquito Spraying Schedule
See where and when crews will spray next, and sign up for alerts, on the spraying schedule page.
Mosquito Control Program
Find out what the control program is trying to achieve and how it operates.
Mosquito Facts and Diseases
Learn how mosquitoes spread illness and how they develop from egg to adult with our mosquito facts.
Pesticide Information
See which products the city uses and what effects each one can have in our pesticide information.
Pool Maintenance
Get pool care tips that keep mosquitoes from breeding in your pool, and learn how to report neglected or stagnant pools online.
Report Dead Birds
Dead birds can be an early warning sign of West Nile and other mosquito-borne viruses. Report a dead bird to support the city's disease surveillance.
Stagnant Pool or Other Mosquito Issue
Let us know about a stagnant pool or any other mosquito concern so we can respond and help protect your neighborhood.
Vector Control Measures
Fredville's mosquito control program has three goals: keep nuisance mosquitoes in check, lower the chance that mosquito-borne diseases will spread, and help residents enjoy a healthy, comfortable community.
To manage mosquito numbers and keep residents informed, the city:
- Surveys the neighborhoods where positive mosquito samples have turned up.
- Checks low-lying ground for standing water and treats it with larvicide wherever likely breeding habitat is found.
- Has applied larvicide at more than 15 sites around the city.
- Sends postcards and leaves door hangers for residents who have swimming pools.
- Inspects pools in response to complaints and at homes known to be vacant.
- Shares prevention information with residents who are most at risk.
- Hands out mosquito dunks, a doughnut-shaped larvicide that uses bacteria to kill mosquito larvae. Pick them up at the Health and Environment offices, 100 Civic Center Drive, 2nd Floor, Fredville, TX 75999. Each household may take two. A fact sheet on the dunk larvicide (PDF) is available.
Protecting Yourself From Mosquitoes
The best way to lower your risk of West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses is to keep mosquitoes from breeding and to avoid getting bitten.
Every resident can cut down on bites by following the steps below.
DEET Insect Repellent
Whenever you head outdoors, put on a repellent that contains DEET or another EPA-approved ingredient, and always follow the label directions. Mosquitoes that can carry Zika bite throughout the day, not only at dawn and dusk, so repellent matters at any hour. The CDC also publishes guidance on choosing a repellent (PDF).
Dress
When you are outside, choose clothing that is loose-fitting, long-sleeved and light in color.
Dusk and Dawn
Many mosquitoes are most active around sunrise and sunset, so cut back on outdoor time during those hours. Zika-carrying mosquitoes bite all day, though, so draining standing water and wearing repellent are still important.
Drain
Get rid of or treat standing water at home and at work. Look for low spots where water collects, along with anything that can hold water, such as flowerpots, cans, wheelbarrows, boats and old tires.
Water left standing for a week to 10 days after a rain will very likely start producing mosquitoes. Over a single summer, one coffee can full of water can produce more than 10,000 of them.
- At least once a week, tip out anything in the yard that holds water. Kiddie pools, buckets, rain barrels, birdbaths and boats in storage are common breeding spots.
- Overwatering and poorly adjusted sprinklers often create mosquito habitat at homes, in parks and on golf courses. If you see standing water on public property, report it to the staff who maintain that site.
- Clear leaves and debris from gutters and downspouts so they drain freely.
- Keep your pool's pump and filter running and its chlorine and pH in balance. See our pool maintenance tips.
- Refresh the water in pet bowls and birdbaths every day.
- Stock backyard ponds with gambusia, also called mosquito fish. These small native fish feed on larvae and multiply quickly; a female can produce around 60 young within 16 to 28 days of mating. Frogs help keep the fish population in balance.
- Add a battery-powered water agitator to birdbaths. Female mosquitoes avoid laying eggs in moving water.
- Drop mosquito dunks, which contain the bacterium Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), into rain barrels and fountain basins. Small broken pieces also work well in flowerpot saucers that catch irrigation water. Dunks are available free from the Health and Environment offices at 100 Civic Center Drive, 2nd Floor, with a limit of two per household.
- Scatter Bti granules under thick shrubs where the soil stays damp and mosquitoes breed. Apply them in spring and again during the summer.
- Keep ditches clear of weeds and debris so water drains quickly, and trim cattails and other water plants from pond edges, since that is where larvae grow.
Fredville Mosquito Ordinance
The city's vector control ordinance is meant to protect public health, safety and welfare. It manages mosquito and rodent populations through integrated pest management, including an action plan that takes effect when set thresholds are reached. The full ordinance is part of the Fredville city code.
More Mosquito Resources
West Nile virus news and updates from the county health department
Videos
- Getting rid of mosquito breeding sites (county public health video)
- Ayude a controlar los mosquitos (Spanish-language video)
Contact Info
Health and Environment, 100 Civic Center Drive, 2nd Floor, Fredville, TX 75999
Main phone: (555) 010-1261
Fax line: (555) 010-2536
See the full contact directory.
Fredville is a demonstration city built by Talk to Fred. Names, numbers and details on this page are sample content.