Ohio EPA awards $816K in grants to 46 local agencies for mosquito control
Forty-six local health departments and municipalities across 41 Ohio counties are receiving $816,000 in grants from Ohio EPA for mosquito control activities, including $127,000 to remove scrap tires, which can become breeding grounds for mosquito larvae.
The funding will help mitigate the spread of mosquito-borne viruses such as Zika, West Nile and La Cross Encephalitis.
Area recipients include the Ross County Health District, which is receiving $25,000. The full list of grant recipients and the amount of each grant are available online at https://epa.ohio.gov/static/Portals/47/nr/MCG2023.pdf.
Mosquito control grants specifically target:
• mosquito surveillance
• larval control
• adult mosquito control, such as spraying where mosquito presence poses a risk to public health
• community outreach
• breeding source reduction, including trash or tire removal.
Grants are being issued in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Health’s larger effort to mitigate the potential for an outbreak of mosquito-borne viruses. Over the last seven years, Ohio EPA and the Ohio Department of Health have awarded $7.5 million to local health departments and communities for mosquito control programs.