The City Of Laurel Will Begin Spraying For Mosquitoes On Sundays Starting May 29

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The city of Laurel will spray for mosquitos on Sunday nights starting May 29.

The spraying will be done as part of the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Mosquito Control Program, which includes two parts - larviciding and adulticiding. The larviciding is limited to public rights-of-way and areas where there are large amounts of standing water. The adulticiding phase consists of city-wide evening spraying.

Residents can find videos to help battle mosquitos this summer at “Mosquito Control Program” on the city's emergency management page. Not only can mosquitoes carry diseases that afflict humans, but they also can transmit several diseases and parasites that dogs and horses are susceptible to.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, different species of mosquitoes prefer different types of standing water in which to lay their eggs. The presence of beneficial predators such as fish and dragonfly nymphs in permanent ponds, lakes and streams help keep these bodies of water relatively free of mosquito larvae. However, portions of marshes, swamps, clogged ditches and temporary pools and puddles are all prolific mosquito breeding sites. Other sites in which some species lay their eggs include:

• tree holes
• old tires
• buckets
• toys
• potted plant trays and saucers
• plastic covers or tarpaulins and
• places as small as bottle caps