How to keep yourself safe after West Nile Virus discovered in Milwaukee County

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MILWAUKEE COUNTY (CBS 58) -- Keeping yourself safe from mosquitoes has become more important since West Nile virus has been found in Milwaukee County.

It’s also been a busier summer than most for the insects, according to one pest control expert.

David Lepak owns Mosquito Joe of Waukesha County, an outdoor pest control company.

He says all of his trucks are regularly working 12-hour days, going to as many as 20 appointments a shift.

He sprayed Carolyn Simon’s property in Big Bend Thursday. It was his third visit to her home this summer.

“We want to spend the summer outside,” Simon said. “We get six months of really nice weather in Wisconsin and we want to be able to use it.”

Lepak says all the rain in the area has created more pools of standing water than usual, and thus more breeding opportunities for mosquitoes.

“Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in something as small as a bottle cap filled with water in your backyard,” Lepak said. “It’s something you and I might walk past and not think anything about.”

According to Lepak, a female mosquito mates three times in her life, and each time lays 300 eggs. If all those mosquitoes then do the same, that’s 810,000 mosquitoes and it can happen in less than a month.

Lepak says during the day, mosquitoes hang out in woods and shaded areas.

The Milwaukee Health Department is advising people to trim their tall grass and weeds.

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