Northeast Ohio counties awarded money to fight mosquitoes this summer

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Mosquitoes are a bother every summer, which is why the Ohio Environmental Protective Agency has decided to give $816,000 in grants to 41 counties for mosquito control.

Stark, Ashland, Carroll, Cuyahoga, Erie, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, and Tuscarawas are among the counties receiving state funds, with $206,570 being allotted to these 11 Northeast Ohio counties.

Not only will Ohioans be enjoying a summer with fewer mosquitoes, but also with less trash and scrap tires in their communities.

The Ohio EPA said that tires can easily become breeding grounds for mosquito larvae, so they specifically allocated parts of the grants for scrap tire removal.

In addition, the grants fund spraying for adult mosquitoes, additional larval control, community outreach, and overall mosquito surveillance.

Mosquitoes also pose more serious environmental and health risks that the Ohio EPA is aiming to combat, such as mosquito-borne viruses like Zika, West Nile, and La Cross Encephalitis.

In the last 7 years, the Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Health have awarded $7.5 million to health departments across the state for mosquito control.

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