Mosquito Spraying

The City of Kemah has one Public Works employee licensed to spray for mosquitos. We use “Adulticide” rather than “Larvacide” to kill active adult mosquitos. This is the mist that gets sprayed into the air, most commonly seen from the back of spray trucks.
The two main factors that prohibit spraying (both at the County and City level) are wind and temperature. In order for the adulticide to be effective, temperature and wind must facilitate mosquitos being out in the environment. Otherwise, spraying does no good.
The City has historically supplemented County spraying with our own spray truck. We schedule a spraying when 3 or more phone calls are received by the City. However, we work in conjunction with the County’s schedule, and if the County is scheduled to spray Kemah (either by plane or by truck) at the same time we receive complaints, we step aside and allow the County to cover the area. So basically, if there’s a bloom of mosquitos after a rain, we spray unless and until the County sprays our area.
As always, source reduction is encouraged. Residents should remove sources of standing water, leaky sprinklers, clogged gutters, and change pet dishes often. The County also recommends repellants with DEET.
The County’s mosquito control website is a good resource for a spraying schedule and other info. www.galvestoncountytx.gov/cs/mc/.
To request spraying, residents can either call the City (at 281-334-1611) or Galveston County (at 1-800-842-5622).