Mosquitoes Still an Issue When it Comes to Foreclosed Homes
By: Sarah Greenleaf, PR Intern | September 23, 2009
No one likes mosquitoes (really, no one) and they just won’t quit. And their nastiness has another side effect related to real estate. Zillow VP of Communications Amy Bohutinsky wrote a blog post two years ago that foreclosures are helping spread the West Nile Virus since untended backyard swimming pools are the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry the virus.
Now, WPTV of West Palm Beach, FL is reporting that the thousands of foreclosures in the area continue to be hazardous to neighbors. According to WPTV, this property at 939 W Lakewood Rd, West Palm Beach, FL, has a “… pool that has sat dirty for more than six months and it’s become a haven for mosquitoes, huge frogs and snakes.” The home has been in foreclosure for more than a year.
The city has even set up a meeting with the bank that owns the property to discuss the issue. West Palm Beach has applied for stimulus money, in part, to purchase, repair and renovate foreclosed homes. Perhaps they will do what Californian officials did and use aerial maps to find these mosquito breeding grounds.
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Foreclosures
Comments
2 Comments so far
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abe vigoda on September 24, 2009 7:49 am
Many municipalities are actually dumping fish into the pools of vacant and foreclosed properties to eat the bugs. This of course, leads to the problem of what to do with the fish when they die or simply the mess the fish make.
Other HOA’s and cities are draining the pools altogether, but this brings up a safety issue. The pool needs to be properly fenced to avoid injury to a child and avoid liability.
There are private companies the banks are SUPPOSED to hire to maintain their REO’s, but we all know the banks could care less about the houses. They don’t want to acknowledge they exist and certainly don’t want to have to recognize the loss on their books.
Wojo on September 24, 2009 7:23 pm
I suppose it might cost the neighbors a few dollars, but why not just buy a few gallons of vegetable oil to pour into the pool? Oil, since it floats on top of the water, has long been used to stop mosquitoes from developing through the larval stage. Since they depend on their tiny breathing tubes to float at the top of the water, the oil prevents that and stops the development completely, killing them soon after the eggs hatch. It may take several gallons to coat the water with enough oil, but my understanding is that it doesn’t take a lot.