NEDERLAND, Texas — With more rain headed to Southeast Texas to add to the drenching the area has already received, the mosquito problem is only expected to continue, keeping mosquito control crews busy.
"We're stretched thin, like a rubber band about to break, trying to keep up with everything,” said Jerry Hinson, a Jefferson County Mosquito Control pilot.
The staff at Jefferson County Mosquito Control has been working overtime during this abnormal season.
"We just had a wet season starting out, starting during the winter, and really hadn't had much of a break," Hinson said.
It's no secret in Southeast Texas that the mosquito population has increased due to the recent downpours we've experienced.
“Mosquito eggs kind of lay dormant for quite a while until they're absorbed by water, then they start hatching and I think this year, they hatched off all at the same time all over the county," Hinson explained.
Hinson and the two other pilots fly more than 35 routes over the county to keep the little pests at bay.
But to do aerial spraying, the conditions must be just right.
“We can't spray in the rain. And then also the middle of the day you have heat,” Hinson says. “So, we have a tight window of opportunity to get out there, morning or late evening, to spray"
On a typical spraying flight, the pilots will usually hit two areas, totaling more than 10,200 acres spraying about 160 gallons of pesticide for a total of about two ounces of chemical per acre.
The pilots have sprayed a total of about a million acres since the start of the year.
When they're flying one of the 35 routes they take their time on each route.
Often, they take off right at sunrise and spend about an hour and a half per area, Hinson says.
Their hard work doesn't go unnoticed.
"We've had hundreds of phone calls in the last few weeks,” Hinson says. “People want to be outdoors, ballparks, barbecue, so we're doing the best job we have with the equipment we have."
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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