Dunk Dynasty: How a city program helps keep West Nile virus at bay

We hear it every year around this time: To protect yourself and your family from mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, follow the four Ds, and that’s absolutely true:

• Drain standing water around your home
• Dress in long sleeves and pants
• Dawn and dusk are times to avoid being outdoors
• DEET is the active ingredient in the insect repellent you should use

Those are wise steps to take, but there’s evidence an additional step heightens your protection even further.

College Station’s Mosquito Abatement Program — no-cost larvicide dunks available to city-registered homeowner associations — was created about a decade ago. According to Neighborhood Services Coordinator Barbara Moore, the 50+ neighborhoods that have participated haven’t had mosquitoes, birds or other animals test positive for West Nile virus.

That’s stunning information.

Click the arrow below to hear or download Moore’s podcast about the effectiveness of the Mosquito Abatement Program and the steps a neighborhood — registered or unregistered — can take to better protect residents throughout mosquito season.

• Mosquitoes beware: Bobby is on the loose!
• Battling mosquitoes is as easy as a dunk