Westchester Health Department Giving Away 'Dunks' To Fight Mosquitos

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — County public health officials want to help you say goodbye to bloodsucking insects this summer.

The Westchester County Health Department is giving away free mosquito dunks that homeowners can place in bird baths, rain barrels, unused pools and lined ornamental ponds that have standing water. The dunks contain a bacterium, Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (Bti), that affects only the larvae of mosquitoes, blackfly and fungus gnats and is safe for animals and plants.

The health department said Bti is naturally occurring in soil and has been approved for pest control in organic farming. It poses no harm to food crops or water supplies, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"These dunks provide an environmentally safe and more cost-effective way to reduce the mosquito population than our past distribution of minnows," Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler said. "In recent years, pond raised minnows have become increasingly difficult to procure. This year, working with the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department secured the dunks at no cost to our residents. Dunks can be more widely and effectively used than minnows to help combat mosquito larva in small bodies of water and residential settings."

Health officials said there are other simple ways for homeowners to avoid mosquito bites even without the dunks.

Residents should eliminate standing water from around their properties after it rains. Mosquitos can breed in a small amount of water. It takes only seven to ten days for an egg to hatch into a biting adult mosquito. Mosquitos do not fly far, so preventing them from breeding will keep mosquitos from biting near homes.

The free dunks will be available this Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Westchester County Department of Public Works, located at 198 Lake Street in White Plains.