VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) -
Some places in Evansville are building fake chimneys to attract a bird that has a diet of mostly mosquitoes to in order to stop West Nile from spreading.
Inside the Vanderburgh County Health Department's Environmental Division, preparations are underway for yet another attack on one of summer's most itchy insects.
"It has been extremely busy lately," said Keith Goy, the health department's vector control supervisor.
Goy's job is to keep mosquitoes and the potentially deadly West Nile virus they can carry at bay.
"Obviously we don't want to see anybody else get sick, or certainly we don't want anymore fatalities in Vanderburgh County," Goy said.
So the health department is fighting back in a couple of ways.
First, by trying to kill mosquito larvae before they grow into adults. Secondly, by spraying for mosquitoes in targeted areas.
Starting Wednesday, fogging will begin at 8:00 p.m. and end by midnight.
The first area being targeted is bounded by Covert Avenue, Vann Avenue, Pollack Avenue and South Weinbach Avenue.
The second area is bounded by the West Lloyd Expressway, South Tekoppel Avenue, Broadway Avenue, Middle Mt. Vernon Road and South Boehne Camp Road.
But there's also a lesser known solution out there that kills mosquitoes naturally.
That solution is Chimney Swift towers.
Some towers have been built by a local eagle scout inside the bluegrass Fish & Wildlife Area, and Brian Taylor, President of the Evansville Audobon Society, wants to see more of them around.
"We'll build these towers at strategic points around Evansville and they will ultimately help take care of the mosquito problem," Taylor said.
That's because the towers provide a home for Chimney Swifts, a type of bird that loves to eat mosquitoes.
The idea is that fewer mosquitoes will mean a lower chance of West Nile.
It's a new idea to Goy, but one he's all for.
"We'd certainly back something like that. Anytime we have to use less chemicals, it'd be great," Goy said.
The health department urges residents to avoid mosquito bites by using repellant when outdoors, especially around dusk and dawn, and reduce breeding habitats by emptying anything with standing water.
For more information about the towers that are being built to cut down on the mosquito population, click here.
Head to the Vanderburgh County Health Department's website for more on what they are doing to reduce those populations.
To see a map of which counties in Indiana that have reports of West Nile, click here.
Another map can be found here.
Copyright 2012 WFIE. All rights reserved.
The towers provide a home for Chimney Swifts, a type of bird that loves to eat mosquitoes.
