Environmental and Health Services

Dallas residents and business/property owners can reduce mosquito breeding and the spread of the West Nile Virus.

Watch the video, "Protecting Yourself and Your Community from West Nile Virus," check it out at any Dallas library, or request it for your next group meeting.

Available for checkout from all Dallas libraries
Available for checkout from the City's Environmental and Health Services Department for groups only. Call 3-1-1 or input your request on the City's homepage at dallascityhall.com at 311/Request a City Service.

Read the brochure - Stop! Raising Mosquitoes In Your Yard & Home

Remember the Four Ds:
DRAIN standing water in your yard and neighborhood. Standing water can be found in swimming pools that are not kept clean, ponds, pet watering dishes, birdbaths, potted plants, old tires, empty containers, toys and clogged rain gutters.

DUSK/DAWN are the times of day you should stay indoors when mosquitoes are most active.

DRESS in long-sleeved shirts and wear pants when you are outside. Spray thin clothing with insect repellent.

DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is an ingredient to look for in your insect repellent (or use an organic alternative such as orange spray, eucalyptus, or citronella).

What the City is doing

• 690 plus trappings and collections of mosquitoes annually
• Testing only blue jays on a case by case basis
  Recording and tracking reports of dead blue jays, cardinal, owls, doves, crows and hawks
• Tracking reports of equine (horses), other animals, and human cases as provided by Texas Department of State Health Services and Dallas County Health Department
• Monitoring known breeding sites and applying larvicide
  Checking identified locations from citizen complaints; applying larvicide if needed
• Enforcing City codes standing water problems
• Stocking Gambusia (minnows that eat mosquito larva) in standing water that cannot be emptied
• Treating storm drains in areas identified by collections from surveillance

Call 3-1-1 to report:

• Standing water in ditches, vacant lots or on
  neighborhood property
• Dead blue jays, cardinals, doves, owls and hawks

Mosquito control updates
For the latest information about the City´s mosquito control efforts:

• Bookmark this Website and check the Updates page daily
• Call the Mosquito Control Hotline, 214-670-1733
• Read and/or watch your local newscasts

Mosquito control and West Nile Virus video

• Available for checkout from all Dallas libraries
• Available for checkout from the City's Environmental and Health Services Department for groups only. Call 3-1-1 or input your request on the City's homepage at dallascityhall.com at 311/Request a City Service.

Other Resources

About West Nile Virus and its spread in the United States
Questions and answers about West Nile Virus from Center for Disease Control (CDC)
EPA's information about mosquito repellants and control pesticides
West Nile Virus information, including statewide map of cases, from the Texas Department of State Health Services
National Pesticide Information Center's West Nile Virus page
American Mosquito Control Association
MosquitoZone.com
Questions on birds and West Nile Virus
List of species found to be infected with West Nile Virus (Microsoft Word document)
List of bird species known to have died from West Nile Virus