Download the infographic here.

Top Tips for Mosquito Control During a Hurricane Crisis: For Local Health Officials by Local Health Officials

1. Take care of your people.

Your staff are your program. If they are struggling, displaced, or don’t have power, they will need those needs taken care of first. Check in on everyone and make sure they are safe and well.

2. Document everything—during normal seasons and hurricane seasons.

Eligibility for federal funds during a crisis sometimes depends on vector control programs being able to demonstrate a change in mosquito prevalence and increased program activity after the hurricane as compared to the same window of time last year, or even an average during that window of time over the past several years.

3. Adjust your maps.

Hurricanes can change the landscape overnight. New surveillance and maps may be necessary to effectively address the problem and safely navigate what may have once been familiar terrain to your team.

4. Be a good neighbor!

During a hurricane, mosquito control may not be anyone’s immediate priority, but something as simple as adding bug spray to the emergency kits for people who are sheltering or otherwise displaced can be enormously helpful to your community when the mosquitoes start biting.

5. Remember that “nuisance mosquitoes” can be more than a nuisance.

If workers can’t get powerlines back up without being swarmed, or kids can’t wait at the bus stop without being bitten, then nuisance mosquitoes become a public health hazard that prevent essential services from being delivered or accessed. While disease prevention is important, it’s often not the primary goal when it comes to post-hurricane mosquito control.

An infographic by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Based on takeaways from NACCHO’s 2024 Vector Control Hurricane Crisis Workshop: https://virtualcommunities.naccho.org/vectorcontrol/home.

Download the PDF version of the infographic here.

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