Head custodians and principals in Birdville, like their counterparts in other Tarrant County school districts, are on the hunt for standing water where mosquitoes like to lurk.
A maintenance administrator last week asked Birdville employees to check trash cans, recycling bins and toys in kindergarten play areas for water and to drain or treat them with mosquito-killing pellets."Please take a few minutes to walk around your campus and check for standing water where we might have mosquitoes breeding," Assistant Director of Building and Grounds John Hughes wrote in an e-mail. "Looks like we have rain in the forecast for the next couple days, so if you can, overturn anything that will catch and hold water."As Tarrant County schools prepare to start classes in a week, administrators say they are monitoring the West Nile situation closely and are in regular communication with area cities and the county public health department on reducing the spread of mosquitoes and bites that could carry the virus.Several districts have posted information on West Nile prevention on their websites and social media outlets. Athletic coaches and band directors have also been given prevention information to share with students who take part in outdoor activities and practices, especially at peak mosquito biting times, at dusk and at dawn.Reaching outGrapevine-Colleyville school district officials are doing all they can to remind students to take precautions, said Megan Overman, school district spokeswoman."Before this even hit to this extent, our school health folks put together for parents a flyer saying make sure you're using bug spray and protecting your environment," Overman said.She added: "As we get closer to football games we'll be sending out information in Fastnews [an online newsletter] to put on bug spray at all outdoor activities. It's all dependent on weather patterns and types of bugs. We will take care of problems as they arise."In Grapevine-Colleyville, officials are putting pellets in standing water to cut down on mosquitoes.Mosquito trapsFort Worth schools, too, have an "aggressive maintenance program to find and eliminate standing water" on school district property, said Clint Bond, school district spokesman."The Fort Worth ISD is actively working to locate and drain any potential source pools on district facilities," Bond said. "Our custodial and maintenance staff will look for those water sources such as empty buckets, sprinkler pooling, leaks or anything else that mosquitoes might use for breeding."Officials are also working with the city of Fort Worth to use some district sites to place mosquito traps for sampling, Bond said.On the first day of school, students in Fort Worth will take home a letter from the city of Fort Worth's code compliance department that outlines how to avoid mosquito bites and gives tips for parents on how to "mosquitoproof" the home. The letter to Fort Worth residents is available in English and Spanish and will be part of the regular take-home packet of information, Bond said. The Arlington district's website has a presentation in both English and Spanish on "the four D's" involved in protecting students (or anyone) from West Nile virus.They are:Dusk/dawn, the time when mosquitoes are most active.Dress in light-colored long-sleeved shirts and pants.DEET, look for insect repellent containing this ingredient.Drain all standing water around your house and yard.Jessamy Brown, 817-390-7326Twitter: @jessamybrownHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
