On April 27, the Montgomery County Health Department will have its Sixth annual Tire Amnesty Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be hosted in the parking lot of the health department, located at 110 W. South Blvd. While this event provides the community with a cost effective way to dispose of old tires, the purpose of the event is for mosquito control. Not only do piles of tires serve as an eyesore, but more importantly, they are also the perfect place for mosquitoes to breed.
In order to lay their eggs, mosquitoes require just a capful of standing water. As a result, virtually anywhere that can collect water and create a warm, moist environment is a potential breeding site. Waste tires collect rainwater easily, and it is quite difficult to completely drain all of the water that collects inside them. Each tire that is brought in and properly disposed of is estimated to prohibit thousands of offspring from adding to the mosquito population. While properly disposing of tires is one method to limit the mosquito population, it is far from the only one. Other ways to limit mosquito reproduction include cleaning out gutters, changing the water in bird bathes weekly, and emptying any other containers that may collect rainwater and provide mosquitoes a breeding site.
Not only are mosquitoes a nuisance, they also pose a serious public health problem. Mosquito populations are monitored and tested by health departments all over the country, because mosquitoes are part of a group of organisms called vectors. A vector is any organism than can transmit infectious diseases from one animal to another, including humans. While severe diseases, such as meningitis and encephalitis, can be transmitted, these instances are rare. The Montgomery County Health Department is primarily concerned with monitoring mosquito populations for the presence of West Nile Virus, which, unlike the Zika virus, is carried by the mosquito species in Indiana. According to the CDC, 70-80 percent of individuals exposed to West Nile will exhibit no symptoms, but some individuals may be more susceptible to developing severe symptoms than others. No matter the percentages, let’s minimize the risk of infection of these mosquito-borne diseases for ourselves and our neighbors by controlling the mosquito population anyway we can.
Join us at the Montgomery County Health Department in some spring cleaning and get rid of your old tires on Tire Amnesty Day. While there is no limit to the amount of tires that you can bring, we do ask that you make a $1 donation per tire after the 10th one. These donations help with the cost of disposal. Tractor tires, large equipment tires and rimmed tires are the only tires we cannot accept. We also ask that you have a tire count before dropping them off, simply to minimize traffic congestion and collect tires as quickly as possible. We hope to see you at the health department on April 27.
Samantha Cravens, CHES, Health Educator, Montgomery County Health Department. Reach her at 110 W. South Blvd., 765-364-6440.
