50 Tampa Bay Dengue Tips - Mosquito Bite Prevention

By Find a Tip Editorial Team · Published September 26, 2026

What Is Happening in Tampa Bay

Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties declared local states of emergency over dengue fever on 24 September 2026.
Each declaration lasts seven days unless the county ends it early.
The declarations let counties act faster, draw on extra resources and seek federal reimbursement for some costs.
As of 19 September, Hillsborough had recorded 170 of Florida's 190 dengue cases since July.
Hillsborough added 36 cases in the week of 13 to 19 September alone.
An 80-year-old woman bitten near her South Tampa home died, the region's first dengue death in about a century.
Pinellas has reported seven cases and Pasco two, with none in Pinellas since August.
Hillsborough is carrying out aerial and ground spraying for mosquitoes in affected neighbourhoods.

Dengue is spread by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, which breed in small amounts of standing water.
Check your yard at least once a week, because mosquito eggs can become biting adults in as little as a week.
Empty, scrub, turn over, cover or throw out anything that holds water.
Common breeding spots include buckets, flowerpot saucers, toys, pet bowls, bird baths and old tyres.
Clean out blocked gutters, where water can pool unnoticed.
Tip water off pool covers, boat covers and tarps after rain.
Refresh pet water bowls and bird baths every few days rather than just topping them up.
As Pasco's mosquito control director put it, government cannot be in every backyard every day, so household checks matter.

Use an EPA-registered repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, PMD or 2-undecanone.
Follow the label on how much to apply and how often to reapply.
If you use sunscreen, put it on first and repellent second.
Do not use products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD on children under three.
For a child, spray repellent onto your own hands and then apply it to their face.
Keep repellent away from a child's hands, eyes, mouth and any cuts or irritated skin.

Wear loose, long-sleeved shirts and long trousers outdoors.
Clothing treated with permethrin kills or repels mosquitoes and keeps working through several washes.
Never put permethrin products directly on skin.
Aedes mosquitoes bite during the day as well as at night, so do not rely on staying in at dusk.
Local officials also advise avoiding areas with lots of mosquitoes around sunrise and sunset.

Stay in places with air conditioning or with screens on windows and doors.
Repair holes in window and door screens so mosquitoes cannot get in.
Keep doors shut rather than propped open, especially in the evening.
Use a mosquito net over beds if a room has no screens or air conditioning.
For water you cannot empty, such as a rain barrel, cover it tightly or use a larvicide labelled for that use.
Look for mosquitoes breeding indoors too, in plant saucers, vases and pet bowls.

The most common symptom of dengue is fever.
Fever often comes with pain behind the eyes, muscle, joint or bone pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or a rash.
Symptoms usually begin within about two weeks of an infected bite.
Symptoms typically last two to seven days, and most people recover in about a week.
Many people infected with dengue never develop symptoms at all.
A blood test is needed to confirm dengue, so tell your doctor if you have a fever after mosquito bites in Tampa Bay.

About one in 20 people who get sick with dengue develop severe dengue, which can cause shock, internal bleeding and death.
Warning signs usually appear in the 24 to 48 hours after the fever goes away, when people may think they are getting better.
Go to an emergency room straight away for belly pain or tenderness.
Also seek emergency care for vomiting at least three times in 24 hours.
Bleeding from the nose or gums, blood in vomit or blood in stool are emergency signs.
Extreme tiredness, restlessness or irritability also need urgent attention.

Rest as much as possible and drink plenty of water or drinks with added electrolytes.
The CDC advises acetaminophen, also called paracetamol, for fever and pain.
Do not take aspirin or ibuprofen for suspected dengue.
During the first week of illness the virus is in the blood, so a sick person should avoid mosquito bites to avoid infecting mosquitoes.
No dengue vaccine is currently available in the United States.