If you're seeing helicopters circling around your neighborhood, it's all to keep you safe from those blood-sucking mosquitoes.
"I've noticed some mosquitoes that seem to be a bit more pesky than they used to be at this time of year," said Lee County resident Ronald Bovello.
"We do normally get a lot of mosquitoes after rainfall, but this one was, like absolutely crazy," said Lee County resident Joanie Haggerty.
You might have noticed more mosquitoes, and there's a reason for that.
"In the colder season, mosquitoes and insects, they go dormant. So they actually will kind of winterize. Then those eggs can lay and live for quite a long time. So they're just waiting for that first rainfall. Once we get that first rainfall, that's all it takes to trigger that egg to hatch and then go through that life cycle," said Jenifer McBride, with the Lee County Mosquito Control District.
McBride said having standing water, even for a short amount of time, can give mosquitoes an opportunity to breed and take over your yard.
Staff has been working to stop these blood-suckers from multiplying from the ground up. They load up the helicopter with the pre-treatment, which is a soil-derived bacteria that only targets these bugs.
"So every day, what we're doing is we're going out and looking for those habitat areas. Are there areas that we need to treat in the larvae stage before they become those biting adults? ... Of course, when we have that widespread rain that really triggers that widespread adult problem. That's kind of what we ran into," said McBride.
McBride said dumping and draining standing water is one of the most effective ways to prevent mosquito production around your home.
"One tiny cap of a water bottle can breed hundreds of mosquitoes. So look in your backyard, and you'd be amazed. I'm sure if I went around my backyard, I'd find a few things too," said McBride.
Other areas the Lee County Mosquito Control District has treated so far are Pine Island, North Fort Myers, Estero, Winkler, and South Fort Myers.
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