Mosquito Control and Surveillance Team, Westchester County Department of Health

Left to right, rear row: Peter DeLucia, Assistant Commissioner, Michael Condon, Associate Sanitarian, Robert Bellach, Sanitarian

Left to right, front row: John Ruggerio, Sanitarian, Gene Argentina, Sanitarian, Kineisha Beckford, Sanitarian

Not pictured: Mario Polvere, Principal Sanitarian, Mark Boda, Senior Sanitarian

Our Mosquito Control and Surveillance Team began in 1999 when West Nile Virus first appeared in New York State. Since that time Westchester has continued to evolve this program in an effort to combat mosquito borne disease by combining larval control, adult surveillance and public education as a three pronged approach. During a short window of time in the spring our team coordinates a department wide effort to evaluate and, when appropriate, larvicide almost 60,000 storm water catch basins. Throughout the entire summer and fall our team traps, identifies, and ships thousands of mosquitos for testing.

Additionally, the team conduct "Mosquito Minnow Giveaway" days where residents can obtain fat head minnows as a natural mosquito control measure for standing water they cannot remove from their property. This past season, with the emergence of Zika, our team was ready and well positioned to respond to the new challenges that faced them.

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