Dallas

Dallas 3-1-1 Calls Up for Mosquitoes, Standing Water

Vacant properties have long been breeding grounds for mosquitoes – with standing water sitting unseen for weeks on end.

But in recent weeks, Dallas residents have taken it upon themselves to rid their neighborhoods of these behind-the-scenes nuisances.

Calls to the Dallas 311 system for "mosquito control activities" have increased by the thousands over this time last year, according to city records.

Between April and May 2015, there have been 8,393 complaint calls about issues including standing water, mosquito investigations and unattended pools to 311. During the same period in 2014, there were 5,217 calls of that nature, a city spokesperson told NBC 5 Tuesday.

"Oh, I stay busy," said Jonathan Thompson, a Dallas mosquito abatement specialist. "There's always a pool or a puddle or a service request that a citizen puts in."

Thompson answered a 311 complaint in Northwest Dallas Tuesday about standing water in a swimming pool in the backyard of a house that has sat vacant for months.

A Dallas city ordinance passed last year allows Thompson to enter the vacant property and treat the mosquito problem without a warrant or the owner's permission.

"Definitely a potential breeding ground," Thompson said, referring to the pool, which has a collection of about six inches of slimy, green stagnant water at its bottom.

"A lot of times I have to take a dip [with a scoop] to figure out if there are mosquitoes," Thompson said, standing over the murky water and referring to the thousands of larvae likely swimming around in it. "But with this I can see them moving already."

Thompson treated the water with pouches of pellets containing a chemical that prevents the larvae from maturing into mosquitoes, and he will have to return to the property before the end of the summer to ensure that the job was successful.

Before he left, Thompson stapled a sign to the rear gate of the property announcing that it was in violation of city codes, and that he had been there to treat the stagnant water.

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