Miami-Dade County to crack down on mosquito control ahead of rainy season

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The first workshop of the year to discuss mosquito control was held Monday in Miami-Dade County

The posters and papers are the tools of a public awareness campaign.

Local 10 News learned Monday that county and city code enforcers will be cracking down on properties that allow pools of standing water where mosquitoes breed. 

"The city of Miami takes it very seriously," Orlando Diez, of Miami Code Enforcement, said.

The proactive fight against the Zika virus is meant to head off the mosquito count and the need to designate Zika zones ahead of the summer rainy season.

Miami-Dade County is spending $10 million more on the effort, already monitoring 130 traps with 90 more on the way and spraying larvaecide.

"We're going to be a lot more aggressive about it," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said. "We want to keep the (mosquito) population down. We do not want to go through another year again or summer where we have zones of active transmission."

With or without the threat of ramped-up code enforcement, there is evidence that businesses and venues are bearing the extra costs of keeping mosquitoes out and away from customers.

"I don't see it like a cost," Dennis Galindo, of the American Airlines Arena, said. "I see it like something to make people be happy and not worry."


About the Author:

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."