Mosquitoes and West Nile in Amarillo: what the city sprays and what it doesn't

Amarillo gets about 19.7 inches of rain a year on average, which sounds too dry for a mosquito problem. The catch is when and how that rain falls. About three quarters of it comes between April and September, mostly in thunderstorms that dump a lot of water at once. The ground here is flat and the clay soil holds water, so runoff collects in low spots instead of draining away.

Those low spots are playa lakes. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts roughly 19,300 playas across the Texas High Plains, and many of them sit inside or right next to Amarillo neighborhoods, parks and drainage areas. After a big storm, playas, ditches and flooded lots can produce a wave of mosquitoes in about a week. A 2007 study tied playa coverage to human West Nile cases in the Panhandle.

Adult mosquitoes are most numerous from June through August. West Nile risk often peaks later, in September and October, when infected mosquitoes have built up in the population.

The City of Amarillo does not spray private property. Fogging trucks drive public streets, and larvicide goes into public water sites, parks and ditches. Your backyard, side yard, patio and the clutter along your fence are outside that program, and so are the containers that breed mosquitoes on residential lots.

That matters, because many of the mosquitoes biting you on the patio hatched within a few hundred feet of it. A clogged gutter, an old tire, a pet water bowl left for a week or a saucer under a flowerpot can produce a steady supply all summer. Fogging on the street passes by quickly and doesn't reach water sitting in your yard.

Neighbors matter too. Mosquitoes from a container-heavy yard next door will happily cross a fence, so a quick word over the fence about birdbaths, kiddie pools and clogged gutters can do as much good as anything you treat on your own side.

Because West Nile risk often peaks in September and October, late summer evenings are when protection matters most. Culex mosquitoes bite mostly from dusk into the night, which overlaps with when people sit out on the patio after the heat breaks.

Use an EPA-registered repellent on exposed skin when you're outside at dusk and after dark, and follow the label, especially for children. Long sleeves and pants in light colors help. Check that window and door screens fit tightly and have no tears. If you're hosting an evening event in the yard, that's a good time to have the yard treated ahead of it.

Most people infected with West Nile have no symptoms, but some develop fever and a small number get seriously ill, especially older adults and people with weaker immune systems. Talk to a doctor if someone develops a high fever, severe headache or confusion after mosquito bites.

A mosquito visit starts with a walk of your yard looking for breeding water: gutters, low spots, containers, AC drip lines, plant saucers and anything hidden behind sheds or under decks. Our technician dumps what can be dumped and treats what can't with a larvicide or insect growth regulator.

Then they treat the places adult mosquitoes rest during the day, such as the undersides of leaves on shrubs, dense plantings, under decks and along fence lines, with a residual product. Because breeding restarts with every storm, many homes do best with treatments repeated through the season. We explain re-entry times and keep pets, kids and pollinators in mind when choosing where to apply. Call (806) 552-3060 to talk it through; we answer 24/7.