All that water from hurricanes Helene and Milton created a vast breeding area for mosquitoes in Sumter County.
“Right now, we’ve got some really nasty mosquitoes,” rural resident Caroline Campbell told commissioners Tuesday night.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold said an aggressive program of aerial spraying has been completed in conjunction with the state Agriculture Department’s Division of Agricultural Environmental Services.
When the spraying was completed Oct. 28, traps were set to determine its efficiency.
Traps set overnight at five county locations prior to spraying to determine their prevalence snagged 21,578 mosquitoes or an average of 4,316 per trap. The majority were Culex species females, according to the data.
Commissioners also were told that contractors have completed small projects related to 2022’s Hurricane Ian. The projects were funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).