Synopsis

Henry County Health Department is a small health department undergoing new budget cuts at the state and local levels since the initiation of this project. We are working to improve the quality and diversity of service while navigating the limitation of resources. 

Challenge

At Henry County Health Department in New Castle, Indiana, our mosquito control program lacks consistency of service within our health department due to the limitation of staff time, funding, and expertise in developing policies and a good communications plan.

Solution

We applied to become a part of the Vector Control Collaborative with the National Association of County and City Health Officials to learn from more established programs. We are working with our mentor, Mobile County Health Department from Mobile, Alabama and Wichita Falls County Health Department in Wichita Falls, Texas. Each of these counties have dedicated staff and resources for mosquito control, but we have environmental staff that share mosquito control responsibilities as a small part of the work they do within their division.

Results

We have come away from the site visit and meetings understanding that we can invest more time in seeking input from our residents to identify breeding grounds and areas not to treat. We will purchase some traps, light traps, and BCG traps, and more effective larvicides. We will also be asking Mobile County Health Department to share their written policies to help us start our own.

Lessons Learned

At the New Orleans Mosquito Control Program, we learned to avoid using a schedule for spraying adulticides as this can spur the development of insecticide resistance.

We will not be in a position to do pesticide resistance testing, so we need to avoid re-treating the same areas frequently.

We must also develop a communications plan that our staff can develop and use regularly.

Contact Information for Henry County Health Department

Doug Mathis
[email protected]
Henry County Health Department, Indiana