Key takeaways
- Mosquito season follows the warm months, with West Nile carriers building late in summer, and the City of Amarillo says its own spraying typically runs April through October.
- Rain, ditches, gutters and containers create breeding sites, so empty containers weekly.
- West Nile virus occurs in Texas, most infections cause no symptoms and preventing bites is the best protection.
- The City of Amarillo says it does not spray private property, so your yard is up to you.
When the season runs
According to the National Weather Service, Amarillo's average last spring freeze falls around April 18 and its average first fall freeze around October 20. The City of Amarillo says its own mosquito spraying typically runs from April through October, depending on the weather, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) notes that West Nile disease is more common in the warmer months. DSHS also advises protecting yourself whenever mosquitoes are active, not only in the peak months.
Rain drives the pattern. Three-fourths of Amarillo's average yearly precipitation falls between April and September, generally in thunderstorms, and each heavy storm can leave puddles, ditches and low spots holding water.
Playa lakes, rain and three waves of mosquitoes
The Handbook of Texas counts about 19,000 playa lakes on the southern High Plains, and the National Weather Service describes numerous shallow playa lakes, often dry, on the grasslands around Amarillo. Most stay dry for much of the year and fill from the runoff of rainstorms, so a wet spell can quickly create standing water across a wide area.
A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension entomologist describes mosquitoes arriving in waves. Floodwater mosquitoes emerge first after heavy rain, from eggs that can wait in dry soil for years, sometimes two to five years depending on the species. Container mosquitoes follow, breeding in anything that holds water around a house, such as buckets, birdbaths and clogged gutters. Culex mosquitoes, the group that carries West Nile virus, tend to become a problem in late summer and early fall.
Wet and dry weather both matter. Texas A&M notes that the mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus reach higher populations in dry conditions, when pooled water turns stagnant. Culex habitat differs by setting. In town, most problems develop underground in storm drains where water sits and stagnates. In rural areas, pooled creek beds and large containers such as barrels and trash cans make good habitat.
Why West Nile virus matters here
DSHS calls West Nile virus the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States. About 80% of infected people never develop illness, about one in five gets a fever-type illness and roughly one in 150 develops severe neurologic disease. There is no human vaccine, so preventing bites is the best protection.
A CDC journal analysis of Texas cases from 2002 through 2011 found the greatest risk in rural northwestern Texas, and its authors note that Culex tarsalis mosquitoes are predominant in western Texas and associated with rural areas. Culex mosquitoes feed from dusk through the night, with a peak between about 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., and they will come indoors for a blood meal.
What you can do at home
Every mosquito needs standing water, so start there.
- Once a week, empty and scrub, turn over, cover or throw out anything that holds water, such as buckets, toys, planters, flowerpot saucers, birdbaths and pet bowls.
- Walk the yard after every rain, because container mosquitoes can go from egg to biter in a matter of days.
- Clear clogged gutters, and cover or drain pools, tubs, wheelbarrows and barrels that are not in use.
- Keep window and door screens in good repair and use air conditioning when you can.
- At dusk and after dark, wear light-colored, loose long sleeves and pants and use insect repellent as its label directs.
What the city says it does, and what is up to you
The City of Amarillo's Environmental Health Department says it treats over 100 sites around the city, traps and monitors mosquitoes, and bases spraying on trap counts, complaints, weather and disease risk. Its FAQ says the city does not spray private residences or private property, that its program operates within city limits and focuses on public rights-of-way, parks, drainage areas and other public spaces, and that the City of Canyon and the Village of Lake Tanglewood have their own programs. Residents can report mosquito activity and dead crows, ravens, magpies or jays to Environmental Health, and the dead-bird reports help track West Nile virus.
Treating your own yard is therefore up to you or a private service. The city says its spraying only affects adult mosquitoes flying at the time of treatment, and its larviciding targets larvae in standing water and ditches, so neither replaces emptying the water you control.
How the Mosquito Reduction Plan fits
Our Mosquito Reduction Plan is separate from the Home Protection Plan. It includes nine visits from March through November, and a tick add-on is available. As the City notes about its own spraying, treatment reduces mosquito numbers but does not remove them entirely, since mosquitoes can arrive from untreated areas nearby. Emptying standing water remains worthwhile alongside any plan.
Sources
This guide is general information for homeowners in the Texas Panhandle, drawn from the sources listed with each guide. It is not medical advice and does not replace product labels, your doctor, the Texas Department of State Health Services or Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. If you think you have been bitten, stung or exposed to a pesticide, call your doctor or the Texas Poison Center Network at 1-800-222-1222. Pest activity varies by property and season.
