Daytime Mosquito Larvicide Flights Set for East Tampa and Bloomingdale

Hillsborough County will conduct daytime aerial mosquito-control treatments from Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. 9, in East Tampa, East Lake, Palm River, and Bloomingdale. Low-flying helicopters will make parallel passes over standing-water habitats and apply liquid Bti, or Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, to target mosquito larvae before they mature. The county says the treatment is intended to interrupt the mosquito life cycle, with particular attention to mosquitoes capable of carrying dengue. The East Lake and East Tampa treatment area is bounded by Sligh Avenue to the north, Interstate 4 to the south, North 50th Street to the east, and North 22nd Street to the west. The Palm River and western Bloomingdale area is bounded by the Selmon Expressway to the north, the Alafia River to the south, U.S. 301 to the east, and Hillsborough Bay to the west. Residents in those areas may notice aircraft noise, low flight patterns, and visible application activity during daylight hours.

According to Hillsborough County, Bti is a naturally occurring bacterium used in larval mosquito control and does not harm people, pets, fish, birds, or beneficial insects; it also breaks down naturally in the environment. The operation targets larvae in water rather than adult mosquitoes in the air, making household standing-water cleanup an important companion step. Property owners can help by emptying or covering containers such as buckets, plant saucers, toys, tarps, birdbaths, and clogged gutters that can hold rainwater. The county continues to recommend the “three Ds”: dress in long sleeves and long pants when possible, defend by using an EPA-registered repellent, and dump or cover standing water around homes and businesses. Treatment timing can change with weather or operational conditions, so residents who want current mission details should use the county’s mosquito-operations page. This week’s daytime flights are a public-health response, but the practical takeaway for Tampa-area landscapes is immediate: inspect irrigation zones, drainage edges, pots, and outdoor equipment for water that remains long enough to support mosquito breeding.