{"id":15002,"date":"2025-08-21T16:55:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=15002"},"modified":"2025-08-21T16:55:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T20:55:59","slug":"richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-offer-tips-to-prevent-mosquito-habitats","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-offer-tips-to-prevent-mosquito-habitats\/","title":{"rendered":"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Offer Tips to Prevent Mosquito Habitats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>August 19, 2025<\/p>\n<p><strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, <a href=\"mailto:bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov\">bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Richmond and Henrico Health Districts <\/strong><strong>Offer Tips to Prevent Mosquito Habitats<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>World Mosquito Day is August 20<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>RICHMOND, Va<\/strong>. \u2013 The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) offer tips to prevent mosquito habitats. Mosquitoes are one of the world\u2019s most dangerous spreaders of disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorld Mosquito Day reminds us that this tiny insect can have a massive impact,\u201d said Henrico Environmental and Vector Management Specialist\/Medical Entomologist Charles Robertson. \u201cOur collective knowledge and action are our strongest defenses. On World Mosquito Day, we recognize that while global solutions are vital, protection begins at home. Our vigilance\u2014eliminating standing water, using protective measures and staying informed\u2014is not just an act of defense, but a profound form of self-empowerment against a silent, persistent threat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Health risks mosquitoes pose:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mosquitoes can transmit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/west-nile-virus-wnv\/\">West Nile virus<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/la-crosse-encephalitis\/\">La Crosse encephalitis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/eastern-equine-encephalitis-eee\/\">Eastern Equine Encephalitis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/malaria\/\">malaria<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/zika-virus-disease\/\">Zika virus<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/mosquitoes\/mosquito-borne-diseases\/\">other diseases<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Henrico County has a <a href=\"https:\/\/henrico.gov\/works\/engineering-environmental-services\/mosquito-info\/\">vector surveillance program<\/a> that traps pools of mosquitoes to\n<ul>\n<li>a) identify what kind of mosquitoes are breeding in Henrico County and if new mosquito breeds (that can spread other diseases) are emerging in the area<\/li>\n<li>b) test pools for West Nile Virus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How to prevent mosquito habitats on your property:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Check outside your residence to be sure there are no containers of standing water. <\/strong>Some mosquitoes lay eggs in containers of water, even containers that only hold about as much water as a bottle cap.\n<ul>\n<li>Dump water that collects in containers each week.\n<ul>\n<li>Wading pools, ornamental ponds, bird baths, neglected swimming pools, flowerpot trays, buckets and used tires can all serve as sources of standing water for mosquitoes to breed in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Wash out containers each week before refilling them with clean water.\n<ul>\n<li>Mosquito eggs take one week to hatch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Cover or store boats or buckets upside down to prevent water from collecting in these containers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Containers of water that cannot be dumped or drained should be regularly treated with mosquito <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mosquitoes\/mosquito-control\/larvicides.html\"><strong>larvicide dunks<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Use mosquito larvicide dunks to kill mosquito larvae in stagnant water sources during warm months when mosquitoes are active.<\/li>\n<li>Follow instructions on the package for correct use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How to protect yourself from mosquitoes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mosquitoes are most active during dawn, dusk and nighttime hours but they can bite you at any time.\n<ul>\n<li>Wear loose-fitting and light-colored long sleeves and pants and limit the amount of exposed skin when you\u2019re outside in areas where mosquitoes may be active.<\/li>\n<li>Consider wearing mosquito repellents on bare arms, legs, neck and other exposed areas of skin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Do not sleep with windows open unless they are well-screened.<\/li>\n<li>Use an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/insect-repellents\/using-repellent-products-protect-against-mosquito-borne-illnesses\">EPA-registered insect repellent<\/a> on your skin or clothing that contains one of the following:\n<ul>\n<li>DEET<\/li>\n<li>Picaridin<\/li>\n<li>IR 3535<\/li>\n<li>2-undecanone<\/li>\n<li>Oil of lemon eucalyptus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>When using insect repellant on children, keep the following in mind:\n<ul>\n<li>The American Academy of Pediatrics <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aap.org\/en\/patient-care\/environmental-health\/promoting-healthy-environments-for-children\/insect-repellents\/?srsltid=AfmBOopWGsuGPDE7sViowwrKgczSmW_aqSN7ZQYZHtDzeINsYft0v8_c\">recommends<\/a> using products containing no greater than 30% DEET on children.<\/li>\n<li>Do not use insect repellent on babies under two months of age.<\/li>\n<li>Oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol should never be used on children under three years of age.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Please visit the Virginia Department of Health <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/mosquitoes\/\">website<\/a> for more information on mosquitoes and mosquito-borne illness.<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/rhhd.gov\/\">rhhd.gov<\/a> for more health and safety information. Follow RHHD on Instagram (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/richmondcity_hd\">@richmondcity_hd<\/a>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RichmondHenricoHealthDistricts\">Facebook<\/a>. Sign up for RHHD\u2019s monthly at <a href=\"http:\/\/rhhd.gov\/news\">rhhd.gov\/news<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 19, 2025 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Offer Tips to Prevent Mosquito Habitats World Mosquito Day is August 20 RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) offer tips to prevent mosquito habitats. Mosquitoes are one of the world\u2019s most dangerous spreaders of disease. \u201cWorld Mosquito [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"parent":12292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1176,1180,1175,1181,1177,682,1179,79,1178],"class_list":["post-15002","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-eastern-equine-encephalitis","tag-epa-registered-insect-repellent","tag-la-crosse-encephalitis","tag-larvicide-dunks","tag-malaria","tag-richmond-and-henrico-health-districts","tag-vector-surveillance-program","tag-west-nile-virus","tag-zika-virus"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Offer Tips to Prevent Mosquito Habitats - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/richmond-and-henrico-health-districts-offer-tips-to-prevent-mosquito-habitats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Offer Tips to Prevent Mosquito Habitats - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 19, 2025 Media Contact: Bryan Hooten, 804-807-1727, bryan.hooten@vdh.virginia.gov Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Offer Tips to Prevent Mosquito Habitats World Mosquito Day is August 20 RICHMOND, Va. \u2013 The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) offer tips to prevent mosquito habitats. 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