GroundsKeeping Division/Mosquito Info

City Sign
Grounds Staff Planting Trees

Groundskeeping

The Groundskeeping Division is operated by ESG Operations with a Horticulturist on staff. The duties of this division include:

  • Cutting grass
  • Maintaining the grounds of city buildings and the downtown area
  • Landscape projects on city property
  • The care of all trees on city property
  • Do not put grass clippings on roadway or storm drains.

Please help us keep the city looking clean and the drainage system open by maintaining your weed growth in the street right-of-way between your lot line and the paved surface of the street. Thank you.

Mosquito Control

The City of Opelika has a standard mosquito control spraying schedule. The trucks run between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Zones will be sprayed according to schedule, weather permitting - every other week.  

View Mosquito Spray Map or view interactive map - http://bit.ly/2WAQtWe.

Hang Tags - Curb Cut Warning

Mosquito Control Program 

  • Spraying an adulticide to control the adult mosquito population by means of effective ground-based spraying operations. It is a “PERMETHRIN” based product and is widely used in the United States. Permethrin comes from the pyrethroid family. They are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower. It is widely used not only in public health but in spot treatment for fleas on domesticated animals, head treatment for lice in humans, agriculture and used by homeowners in gardens. The city switches products occasionally to ensure the mosquitos have not developed a resistance. These chemicals are applied by a truck-mounted sprayer at strategic times of day when adult mosquitos are most active. (See calendar for your zone schedule. See SDS sheets for currently sprayed chemicals BioMist and Mosquito Master.)
  • Eliminating breeding sites on private property by education. By educating and encouraging homeowners and businesses to be proactive by surveying their own properties, we can reduce breeding areas for mosquitos. Look out for any place that is shaded and usually damp. Mosquitos need standing water to breed. 
  1. Get rid of old tires, tin cans, buckets, drums, bottles or any type of water holding containers
  2. Fill in or drain any low places in your yard that may hold water
  3. Make sure trash containers have their lids closed to prevent water from accumulating
  4. Repair any leaky faucets or pipes that may allow for water to stand
  5. If you own a pool, make sure it is properly maintained and cleaned to prevent mosquitoes from hatching
  6. Change the water in bird baths and plant pots at least once a week
  7. Keep grass cut short and shrubbery well trimmed around the house so adult mosquitoes will not hide


Mosquito species have different breeding habits, but most want to lay 100-300 eggs at one time, and the eggs can hatch into mosquito larvae within 48 hours. For about a week to 10 days, the larva will grow before changing into a pupa until finally emerging as an adult mosquito about two days later. Within 14 days, you have an entirely new generation of mosquitoes ready to start the cycle all over again. Even a bottle cap filled with water is enough for a mosquito to lay eggs in. 

Why Do We Have a Mosquito Control Program?

The main reason there are mosquito programs across the United States is for public health protection against mosquito borne illnesses such as Zika, West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus, Dengue and Yellow Fever. Mosquitos are vectors for diseases, which means they can transmit diseases from one human or animal to another. The increase of global travel has brought diseases once uncommon or unheard of into the United States. According to the American Mosquito Control Association, more than one million people worldwide die from mosquito-borne diseases every year. For more information about mosquito borne illnesses, click on the following link. https://www.mosquito.org/page/diseases


If you have any questions regarding the above schedules, or what section your neighborhood falls into, please don’t hesitate to give the city’s public works department a call at 334-705-5400.