Reality Bites: Mosquitoes have residents itching for answers

By DAVID LOPEZ
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Following Hurricane Hanna’s heavy rains that resulted in widespread flooding across the Rio Grande Valley, residents of Cameron County are now experiencing the inevitable pesky after-effects of the rain: mosquitoes.

County
Cameron County Emergency Management Operations Chief Juan Martinez said that the county began mosquito maintenance last Friday, fully covering the county and beginning their second round through the area on Tuesday.

“It’s broken down by 26 zones,” Martinez said. “What they do is they have these traps that tell us where the highest concentration of mosquitos are, so they hit the heavily trapped areas first, and then we work our way backward.”

Martinez also said that they sprayed only the county areas and not cities; however, if a city does not have its own mosquito maintenance effort, the county assists.

San Benito
The City of San Benito released a video press release detailing their mosquito maintenance efforts.

“The City of San Benito is currently conducting vector control operations and fumigation early in the morning, or late at night when mosquito activity is most active and the wind is gone,” stated the video.

The City also released a map of the four zones with spraying schedules.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited for length. To read the full story, click here or grab a copy of the Aug. 7 – 13, 2020 issue of the NEWS.