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The department is offering free minnows to residents with ponds and water features starting Friday, May 3.
A total of 450 pounds of minnows will be available at the Westchester County Airport (2 Loop Road in West Harrison) at the following upcoming times:
- Saturday, May 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Friday, May 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Also available are mosquito dunks as well as advice and strategies to help prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus.
Residents who plan to pick up minnows should plan to bring a pail or a bucket. Minnows will be distributed in watertight plastic bags. After picking up the minnows, residents are urged to bring them home and immediately release them into ponds with at least eight inches of water.
“With their hearty appetites, this baitfish can keep mosquitos from breeding in your pond and biting you in your own backyard,” said Sherlita Amler, MD, Commissioner of Health.
While minnows certainly help to reduce residential mosquito populations, the department also notes that they aren’t a necessity. Any resident can help to reduce the mosquito population without minnows simply by removing standing water around their yard, draining birdbaths twice a week and covering all trash and refuse containers that are kept outside.
“Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in a puddle, a flowerpot saucer or an old tire, so after it rains, pour out standing water and clear your yard and the pavement around your home of buckets, wheelbarrows and toys that hold standing water,” said Amler.
Large areas of standing water on public property that cannot be easily removed should be reported to the Health Department at (914) 813-5000.
For more information, click here and download the “Westchester County Cares Bug Off” brochure.
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