Fight the Bite!
St. Lucie County Kicks Off Mosquito Awareness Week with a Poster Contest
St. Lucie County’s Mosquito Control District is inviting young artists to design the 2019-2020 Mosquito Awareness poster. Children ages 9 to 18 are encouraged to create a poster illustrating how to protect against mosquito bites and mosquito-borne diseases. The top three scores in groups ages 9 - 11, ages 12 - 14 and ages 15 - 18 will win prizes. Honorable Mentions will also be awarded in each category.
Posters must include the phrase "Fight the Bite!" and be sized 8.5 x 11 inches. The overall top scoring design will serve as the official 2019-2020 St. Lucie Mosquito Control District poster and be displayed throughout St. Lucie County. In addition, a fun, environmental program from the Oxbow Eco-Center will be awarded to the adult sponsor with the most entries.
All entries must be submitted to the Oxbow Eco-Center, 5400 NE St. James Drive in Port St. Lucie by Friday, July 19, 2019 at 4:00 PM. On the back of each poster submitted, please include: Artist’s full name and age, adult sponsor’s name and adult sponsor’s phone number. Posters will be scored based on creativity, neatness, mosquito bite and disease prevention tips, and correct spelling. Winners will be notified by Friday, August 2nd. For more information about the Mosquito Awareness Poster Contest contact the Oxbow Eco-Center staff at: oxbow@stlucieco.org.
The poster contest is held to celebrate Mosquito Control Awareness Week, established by the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA). The week of June 23 – 29, 2019, is designed to educate citizens about the significance of mosquito control districts in their daily lives and the important public health service provided by mosquito control workers throughout the United States and worldwide. Posters entered in the contest should not include Mosquito Control Awareness Week dates as they will be displayed throughout the following year.
The St. Lucie County Mosquito Control District was established in 1926 and covers 301 square miles, including both the City of Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie. The District is overseen by its own board and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control. The District manages more than 4,300 acres of coastal salt marshes, using water control practices that mimic natural tidal inundation processes during managed and unmanaged periods. In addition, a variety of other practices are used to control mosquitoes, known as an Integrated Mosquito Management plan. Integrated Mosquito Management (IMM) is a comprehensive mosquito prevention/control strategy that utilizes all available mosquito control methods, singly or in combination, to exploit the known vulnerabilities of mosquitoes in order to reduce their numbers to tolerable levels, while maintaining a quality environment.
The St. Lucie County Mosquito Control District is located at 3150 Will Fee Road in Fort Pierce, and can be reached at 772-462-1692. Residents can also find current information, such as fogging schedules, at St. Lucie County’s Mosquito Control District webpage, found at www.stlucieco.gov/mosquito.
