As metro Atlanta rolls out the welcome mat for thousands of FIFA World Cup fans, local crews are quietly waging a very different kind of pregame: a mosquito crackdown across DeKalb County.
This week, public health teams fanned out to install dozens of mosquito traps and drop long‑lasting larvicide bricks into storm drains after recent heavy rains left standing‑water hotspots all over the area. The timing is awkward, to put it mildly, with outdoor watch parties and tailgates set to ramp up around Mercedes‑Benz Stadium. Officials say both daytime and dusk‑biting species could be more active than usual.
On Tuesday, DeKalb County Public Health spent part of the day placing “dozens of mosquito traps” and treating drains to blunt an expected surge, Dr. Natasha Agramonte told Atlanta News First. “The rain has delayed us a little bit from being started. You can’t trap when it’s pouring out,” she said, adding that a mix of humidity and standing water is giving mosquitoes exactly what they want. The outlet reports the larvicide bricks are meant to protect drains for months while surveillance continues…