By monitoring South Walton for mosquitoes and the arboviruses they may transmit, the district takes a proactive approach to mosquito control. This is done mainly through the deployment of mosquito traps, testing of blood samples, and public interaction through service requests. All data gathered in field surveillance is used to determine the best approach of control to protect our constituents.

Larvicides are applied directly to water sources that hold mosquito eggs and larva. By focusing on killing mosquitoes during their larval stage, they will never emerge into adults and bite people, and never transmit mosquito-borne diseases.

Adulticides are products that rapidly reduce adult mosquito populations. This can become necessary when larval control measures are insufficient or not feasible. Adulticiding may be initiated when there is evidence of significant populations of mosquitoes in a region, or if there is evidence of mosquito-borne disease transmission in our County.

Source reduction is the elimination of mosquito producing habitat by draining or filling of water holding situations. In South Walton, over 31, ( 44 Miles) major drainage ditches were dug by Mosquito Control to drain the land. These ditches are continually maintained by SWCMCD to ensure that they function properly. Maintenance to these ditches includes: