Zika Virus Travels from Florida to North Carolina
By now you may have heard that Zika has made its way across the Caribbean to Miami, Florida, and now to North Carolina.
In an effort to remain proactive and limit environmental risk factors rather than compete with Mother Nature, Dragonfly Pond Works presents the following information to help you make informed decisions on how to manage the Zika risks that may affect your community ponds and lakes:
What Dragonfly Does to Prevent Mosquitoes That May Be Carrying Zika
During our maintenance visits, we remove trash from the pond and treat unwanted algae. This material provides potential breeding areas for mosquitoes. We also control cattails as they have been linked to increased mosquito populations in lakes and ponds.
We encourage our clients to plant beneficial plants such as pickerel weed along the shoreline. These plants can encourage fish and dragonfly larvae populations to establish in your water and provide great biological control. As courtesy and when available, Dragonfly Pond Works will stock dragonfly larvae into your ponds and lakes to provide additional mosquito control.
What Else Can Be Done to Control Mosquitoes?
Fountain and aeration systems can be helpful in agitating the water, and creating less hospitable places for mosquitoes to live.
Adding flowering plants such as pickerel weed can create great habitat for mosquito predators like dragonflies and mosquito fish. Stocking mosquito fish and minnows can also help.
If there is evidence of mosquito larvae in your ponds and lakes, we can add BTi to the water, a group of bacteria that targets mosquito larvae. Please contact us to add this to your service.
For further reading, please visit these informative sites:
Florida Department of Health - Zika
NC Department of HHS - Zika InformationNC State and A&T University Study on Mosquito Control and Stormwater Management
About Dragonfly Pond Management
Dragonfly Pond Works helps clients discover their sanctuary. We are an environmental services company that customizes water beautification solutions, creating natural pond, lake, and wetland refuges for residents, property owners, and community members to enjoy. Our practices work in harmony with nature, but also within your budget.
As experienced specialists in pond and lake management, our designs transform retention ponds, sand filters, stormwater basins, underground detention facilities, and other types of aquatic systems into healthy and integrated waterscapes.
From Maryland to Florida, Dragonfly Pond Works serves clients throughout the mid-Atlantic region, including corporate, commercial, and public accounts, residential customers, and homeowner associations. We strive to develop long-term relationships based on quality work, timely service, cost efficiency, and of course, trust.