Crews with Hillsborough Mosquito Control spent Labor Day spraying insecticide over thousands of acres in the southern part of Hillsborough County.

The increased holiday response, in the air and on the ground, is due to the water left behind from Hurricane Hermine. Officials are concerned about an increase in mosquitoes, including those mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus.

  • Hillsborough Mosquito Control is increasing efforts in the fight against Zika
  • Officials concerned about standing water following Hurricane Hermine
  • Residents asked to dump any standing water they find

“It’s typical after a hurricane," said Hillsborough Mosquito Control Operations Manager Ron Montgomery. "You have about a four to five day window to treat the mosquitoes while they’re in their aquatic stage, in the water."

On Monday, crews also took samples of mosquito larvae and looked for containers with standing water -- a known breeding grown for those mosquitoes carrying Zika.

“The rain can actually be beneficial for a short time because it will flush out a lot of containers that have larvae in them, but the bad news is those containers will be left with a lot of water in them,” Montgomery said.

Residents are being asked to help in the mosquito fight by getting rid of standing water.

“Anytime I see standing water, I immediately get rid of it because I know that they’re coming,” said Hillsborough resident George White. “In a couple of days, they’ll be here.”

Hillsborough’s mosquito control will continue their heavy spraying in response to the storm over the next three weeks. They’ve already targeted the city of Tampa, Gibsonton, Ruskin and Apollo Beach.