The easiest and best thing anyone can do to help control and reduce the mosquito population is to take a moment to survey their own property to make sure that they are not creating areas of standing water, which is what mosquitoes require to lay eggs and reproduce. Check items such as flower pots, bird baths, ornamental pots or basins, and fountains to make sure that there is no standing water for mosquitoes to breed in. One often-forgotten problem area is the rain gutters on the home. Often they become clogged with leaves, especially after heavy rains or storms, and then they hold water which becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. If residents have ornamental fountains and other things designed to hold water, they can apply over-the-counter mosquito-control products that prevent mosquito larvae from growing in the water. These products are identical in composition to many of the products that the Town now uses to control mosquitoes and contain an environmentally friendly ingredient know as “BTI,” short for Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis. These can be found at local hardware and home centers under trade names such as “Mosquito Dunks,” “Dunk Its,” etc. For more information on mosquitoes and mosquito control, please see our Mosquitos page .