The Brief
- Hillsborough County conducted aerial mosquito spraying Thursday after crews discovered 18,000 mosquitoes inside a single South Tampa trap Tuesday.
- Last month, that same trap only had 142 mosquitoes.
- Recent drought conditions have played a role in this surge.
TAMPA, Fla. – Hillsborough County conducted aerial spraying early Thursday to treat a growing mosquito population – a sudden influx that’s tied to the Bay Area’s recent drought.
South Tampa trap numbers
By the numbers:
In June, one trap in South Tampa collected 142 mosquitoes. But when crews checked that same trap on Tuesday, there were 18,000.
“That’s pretty large,” Gabriela Henderson, community relations coordinator for Hillsborough County Mosquito Management, told FOX 13. “Might see a couple of thousands, but a jump of that size is intense. It broke records from last year when we had a bit of a drought and then some rain.
She said the average trap size this time of year is normally four to six-thousand mosquitoes. …