Tropical Storm Debby is gone, but here come the mosquitos

CHARLESTON CO., S.C. (WCBD)- As the Lowcountry is recovering from the impacts of Tropical Storm Debby, we’ve shown you lots of flooding, and damage to homes and cars, but there’s another issue we’re dealing with, that isn’t as visible- mosquitos.

They’re the pest the Lowcountry knows best.

“These were collected at a CDC light trap on East Bay Street downtown,” Entomologist, Andrew Pierson said.

Mosquitos are everywhere around Charleston, but they really come out to play after a big storm, like Debby.

“The eggs are being laid above the water line, so when we get all this rain that floods those eggs they start hatching off,” Manager for Charleston Co. Mosquito Control, Brian Hayes said.

Hayes says a mosquito’s life cycle depends on water, “Without water their life cycle ends.”

That’s why they love post-storm flooding, but of course, it causes issues for us.

That’s where mosquito control comes in.

They spend days after storms, spraying problem areas.

“Parts of McClellanville, parts of Edisto, parts of James Island,” Hayes said.

The work they do is vital to keeping the mosquito population down, but you can also do your part to minimize them on your property.

“Anything that can hold water has the potential to breed mosquitos in it. Take a walk around your yard, taking anything that’s holding water in it, you’ll see a little wiggly larva in it, anything like that dump it out. If it’s something you want to keep water in like a bird bath or dog bowl, just make sure you flush it out every 3-4 days,” Hayes said.

Charleston County Mosquito Control says they have hundreds of people calling a day, requesting they come out to spray their property. They’re asking people to be patient as they respond to all of the calls.