SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) – As trick-or-treaters prepare to hit the streets this evening, they’ll encounter goblins, vampires, and mosquitos.
Dusk is prime time for these tiny little vampires to suck blood. And in recent months, mosquito control departments across Florida have been working to contain the spread of the Zika virus.
LEARN MORE about the virus and how to protect yourself
In Miami Beach, city officials are draining water and passing out mosquito repellant to keep kids and adults safe.
And Sarasota County is doing its part too. There have been five reported cases of Zika, but they have all been travel related. So far there have been no cases of locally-transmitted Zika. But officials are still taking precautions.
Over the past few days, they’ve been doing surveillance and capturing mosquitos for testing. They are one of the few agencies in the state with equipment to test mosquitos for the virus.
They’re also keeping a close eye on neighborhoods where they’ve received a lot of complaints. But they need the trick-or-treaters to do their part too.
“We can’t just go spray the entire county to try and make sure there’s no mosquitos for anybody so it really comes down to personal protection,” said the director of Sarasota County Mosquito Management.
On Halloween, the county department is offering free mosquito repellant for anyone who comes by their office at 5531 Pinkey Avenue.
They also offer free chemicals to help treat standing water and tiny mosquito-eating fish that can be dropped into ponds.
“There’s no reason to worry about [Zika.] Now there are other viruses that you know you should just worry about all the time, just to a level where you should protect yourself though,” explained Smith.
Folks should always be cautious of other diseases spread by mosquitos like West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. So ultimately, officials say that parents and trick-or-treaters should not be fearful of going outside on Halloween. Instead, they should make sure they’re taking the proper precautions.
Maggie Seldis is excited about taking her children out for halloween, but Zika has been on her mind lately.
“If we feel like we’re getting attacked too much [by mosquitoes] we’ll just head home early because they’re still young enough that they can do that,” said Seldis.
But she feels it’s important to enjoy the moment.
“Do everything you can to be cautious but don’t let it stop you from having fun because you just have to live your life and enjoy these things with your kids while they’re young,” she said.
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