When you bring a baby outdoors, cover the baby's carriage or playpen with mosquito netting. Fix any holes in your screens and make sure they are tightly attached to all your doors and windows. To reduce mosquito populations around your home and neighborhood, get rid of any standing water that is available for mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes will breed in any puddle or standing water that lasts for more than four days. Pay special attention to discarded tires that may have collected on your property.
Tires are a common place for mosquitoes to breed.
Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers that are left outdoors, so that water can drain out. Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use. Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property. Every year from May until the first frost, MDPH field staff collect mosquitoes and bring them to the State Laboratory for testing. MDPH has expanded this mosquito surveillance program to look for WNV throughout Massachusetts.