A household plan for the wet season in Duval County, when the Florida Department of Health has issued mosquito-borne illness advisories in past years.
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Wet-season mosquito protection is a household plan for the period when mosquito populations rise after rain. The Florida Department of Health has issued mosquito-borne illness advisories for Duval in past wet seasons, including 2024, so the plan combines removing standing water, personal protection and a clear point at which to seek medical advice.
The wet season changes the mosquito problem. Rain fills containers, gutters and low spots, and the water stays long enough for mosquitoes to complete their life cycle. The Florida Department of Health has issued mosquito-borne illness advisories for Duval in past wet seasons, including 2024, which is why the wet season gets its own plan.
A wet-season plan is practical. It asks a household to clear water after each storm, to protect people outdoors and to watch for symptoms that need a doctor. It does not ask a family to treat their home with products they have no training to use, and it does not promise that a single step will stop the risk.
Jacksonville Pest Control offers a private yard visit for the wet season as one part of the plan, and points to the city program for the wider area. This page explains the household steps first, because they are the ones a family controls every day.
Follow the label for any repellent and for any product used in the yard, and do not apply repellent to skin under clothing or to the hands of young children. Do not use a product near a pond or edible plants unless the label allows. Seek medical care promptly for fever, severe headache, rash, or joint pain after outdoor exposure. This page does not diagnose illness.
After a storm, the household empties containers, clears gutters and fixes low spots within a day or two. A few minutes after each rain removes most of the breeding that a wet season produces.
The hours around dusk and dawn are when many biting mosquitoes are most active. Wearing long sleeves, using a repellent that the label allows and keeping screens in good repair are the steps a family controls.
Shaded beds, dense shrubs and the underside of furniture are where adults rest. Thinning a shrub or moving a chair into the sun can reduce the resting places near the house.
Fever, headache, rash or joint pain after mosquito bites should prompt a call to a doctor. The household plan says who to call and what to mention, including recent bites and time outdoors.
If standing water or resting sites persist after the household steps, a private yard visit can treat the lot. The city program is requested separately for the wider area.
The Florida Department of Health issued mosquito-borne illness advisories for Duval in past wet seasons, including 2024. An advisory is a public notice that a mosquito-borne illness is circulating in an area, and it is a reason to step up personal protection and yard clearing for the period it covers.
An advisory is not a diagnosis, and it does not mean every household is at risk. It is a signal from the public health office that the local conditions are right for transmission, and it tells residents what to do to reduce their exposure during the period.
The 2024 advisory is one of several in past wet seasons, according to the Department of Health's notices. A homeowner who checks the department's listings each season can see whether an advisory is in effect and for what period.
The advisory does not change the basic steps. Clearing water, protecting people and watching for symptoms are the same whether or not an advisory is in force. The advisory simply makes the steps more urgent.
After a storm, empty the containers, clear the gutters, drain the saucers and fill low spots within a day or two. This is the household's most effective wet-season step, and it costs nothing.
Standing water is the thing mosquitoes need to breed. A storm that fills buckets, tubs and plant saucers gives them a supply of breeding sites within hours, and an empty container gives them nothing.
Gutters that hold water after rain are a breeding site as well as a moisture problem, and they can overflow onto the wall. Clearing them after a storm serves both purposes.
Low spots in the lawn and in the drive also hold water. Filling or grading them so the water drains away is a longer job, but it reduces the wet-season breeding that the lot produces.
Wear long sleeves and long trousers where the weather allows, use a repellent that the label allows, and keep screens intact. Timing matters too, since many biting mosquitoes are most active around dusk and dawn.
Clothing is the most reliable barrier that a person controls. Light, loose long sleeves and trousers keep the skin covered, and they are most useful in the evening when the biting is heaviest.
Repellents are used as the label directs. Check the label for the age and the strength that is allowed, and follow the instructions for reapplication. A repellent that is used correctly is a useful part of the plan, but it is not a substitute for clearing the water.
Screens and doors are the household's barrier indoors. A torn screen or a door left open in the evening lets adults in. A quick check of the screens before the wet season begins, and a habit of closing the door at dusk, removes a source of exposure.
Fever, severe headache, rash or joint pain after outdoor exposure should prompt a call to a doctor, and the person should mention recent mosquito bites and time spent outdoors. A pest company cannot diagnose an illness, and the household plan should say so clearly.
A household plan should name who to call first, usually the family doctor or a nurse line, and it should say what to mention: the symptoms, when they started, and any recent time outdoors or bites. That detail helps the clinician decide what to check.
A child, an older adult or someone with a health condition should be watched more closely, and the threshold for calling should be lower. The plan should say that, so nobody waits to see whether a symptom passes.
The pest company's role is the yard and the home. Medical questions go to a doctor, and the household should not rely on a pest visit to answer them.
Add a private yard visit when standing water or resting sites persist after the household steps, or when biting adults remain in the shade of the lot. The visit treats the lot and records what was done, while the household keeps up the daily steps.
A yard that has been cleared and still produces biting adults has a resting site or a breeding source the household has not found. A technician can look for those sources and treat the areas where the label allows.
The visit does not replace the household's own clearing. The homeowner still empties containers after rain, and the technician's list is most useful when the homeowner has already done those tasks.
The wider area is covered by the city program, which is requested separately. A private visit and a city request can both be used in the same season.
The household plan is built on clearing water and keeping screens intact. It is the least expensive and most reliable part of the wet-season approach, because it removes breeding and keeps adults out of the house. The plan is short and is written where the family can see it.
Clothing, repellents and timing are the personal protection steps. Repellents should be used as the label directs, and children should be protected according to the label's age guidance. The plan avoids claims about any product beyond what the label states.
A technician can treat the resting sites and breeding containers on the lot during the wet season. The visit complements the household steps and does not replace them, and the record shows what was treated and when.
The Florida Department of Health issued mosquito-borne illness advisories for Duval in past wet seasons, including 2024.
The City of Jacksonville lists Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti activity from about the end of April to the end of September, which is the wet-season window for this plan.
The City of Jacksonville Mosquito Control Division covers all of Duval County and provides its service free to residents, so a household should use the city route for the wider area.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent wet-season mosquito protection, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Reducing the mosquitoes that breed and rest around a Duval County home, timed to the season the City of Jacksonville reports for Aedes activity.
The route through the city's free mosquito program, explained for Duval County residents, with what to note before a call or an online request.
A household pest visit for Duval County homes that covers the pests with a sourced local record and is honest about the seasons that are not yet documented for the area.
Scheduled station reads, re-inspections and a written trigger list, so a Duval County termite job is measured over time rather than assumed finished.
Mosquito season in Jacksonville runs from about the end of April to the end of September, according to the City of Jacksonville, which names Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti as the species active across that window.
A City of Jacksonville mosquito inspection is requested through the Mosquito Control Division, which covers all of Duval County and provides its service free to residents.
The department issued mosquito-borne illness advisories for Duval in past wet seasons, including 2024. Check the department's listings for the current period, since an advisory applies only for the time it is in effect.
No. The City of Jacksonville lists mosquito activity from about the end of April to the end of September, and the household steps are useful throughout that window.
Yes, when they are intact. A torn screen or an open door in the evening lets adult mosquitoes indoors, and a quick check before the season removes that exposure.
Use one that the label allows for your age and situation, and follow the reapplication directions. This page does not recommend a brand.
After fever, severe headache, rash or joint pain following outdoor exposure, mention the bites and the time outdoors. Medical advice comes from a doctor, not from a pest company.
No. A visit can reduce the breeding and resting sites on the lot, which is one part of the household plan. It does not prevent illness, and the personal steps still matter.