Mosquito Control Program

The Public Health and Environmental Quality Department has an active mosquito control program to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. Each week, mosquito control personnel set traps throughout the city. Mosquitoes trapped at each location are prepare for shipment, and each "pool" of mosquitoes is sent to the Dallas County Health and Human Services Vector Control Lab and the Texas Department of State Health Services Arbovirus Lab for species identification and disease testing. Mosquitoes are tested for West Nile Virus (WNV).

How it Works

When a “pool” of mosquitoes tests positive for West Nile Virus, the Public Health and Environmental Quality Department personnel spray the area surrounding the site where the positive sample was trapped. The spraying takes place at night from a truck mounted sprayer.

Further mosquito trapping of the area is performed the following weeks to determine if the mosquitoes carrying the disease have been eliminated in the sprayed area. For more information, contact the Public Health and Environmental Quality Department at 972-237-8055.

In an effort to manage the mosquito population and educate the public on this serious issue, the city also takes the following measures:

• Surveys the areas where positives have been found.
• Surveys low lying areas for standing water. When possible mosquito habitat is found, larvicide is applied.
• Applied larvicide to over 20 areas throughout the city.
• Provides post cards and door hangers to residents with pools.
• Inspects pools on complaints and at known vacant residences.
• Provides information to vulnerable populations.
• Provides mosquito dunks. The donut shaped bacteriological control agent against mosquitoes is available at the Environmental Services Department offices located at 300 W. Main St., 2nd Floor, Grand Prairie, TX 75050. Dunks are limited at 2 per household. Read more information on the mosquito dunk larvicide(PDF, 23KB)

Mosquito Control Program Goals

The objectives of the City of Grand Prairie Mosquito Control program are to control nuisance mosquitoes, reduce the potential of mosquito borne disease transmission, and provide a comfortable and healthy atmosphere for community residents.

We accomplish this task by using an Integrated Pest Management plan of attack. Integrated pest management is the combining of appropriate pest control tactics into a single strategy to reduce pests to an acceptable level.

Using many different tactics to control a pest problem tends to cause the least disruption to the living organisms surrounding the treatment site.