Our mission

West Nile Virus was originally detected in Pennsylvania in 2000. To assist with detecting, tracking and controlling the virus, the Pennsylvania Departments of Health, Environmental Protection and Agriculture developed a comprehensive surveillance program focusing on mosquitos as the primary cause. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) administers Mosquito-borne Disease Control grants to individual counties or small multi-county regions annually, providing resources to develop programs suitable to the region’s specific environment and populations.

The Lebanon County Conservation District Mosquito-Borne Disease Control Program, under the guidance of the DEP, serves Lebanon and Lancaster communities by suppressing nuisance and disease-carrying mosquitoes. Our mission is to detect and mitigate the risk of mosquito-borne disease by reducing mosquito populations to tolerable levels with an integrated mosquito management approach.

What is Integrated mosquito management?

Integrated mosquito management (IMM) employs multiple pest control methods to effectively reduce mosquito populations, while minimizing potential effects on people, wildlife, and the environment. Consistent with IMM principles our program begins by conducting educational and habitat reduction events to increase the awareness and support of residents. Then, we perform larval and adult surveillance to determine the abundance and distribution of mosquito species. If habitat reduction or water management is not practical, we employ biological control methods. Biological pesticides generally have low toxicity to humans and other mammals and few environmental impacts. When biological control is not practical nor effective, we then use EPA registered chemical pesticides at low volumes to suppress adult mosquitoes.