Florida county to vote on expanding mosquito control district

Some St. Lucie County voters will decide in the Nov. 3 General Election whether to expand the St. Lucie County Mosquito Control District boundaries to keep up with the county’s growing population.

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The Mosquito Control District is looking to expand the 333-square-mile district by 100 square miles in the western portion of the county, District Director Roger Jacobsen said.

“We are seeing growth beyond our boundaries,” Jacobsen said.

Only residents of the expanded area will see the question on their ballot, Jacobsen said.

Mosquito Control expands boundaries to cover fast-growing areas

The 100 new square miles of jurisdiction would allow the agency to cover areas just south of C-24 Canal, which would include parts of PGA Village Verano and Wilson Groves and Oakwood Ranch, which have yet to be developed.

The Legislature passed H.B. 4011 this past legislative session, which allowed the referendum to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Mosquito Control fights mosquito-borne tropical diseases

The district is funded as an independent taxing district but is overseen by the St. Lucie County Commission. The agency has 14 fog trucks and four other trucks used to spray mosquito larvicide, and operates under a roughly $5 million annual budget, Jacobsen said.

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The agency was created in 1926 to protect public health and reduce nuisance mosquito populations across the county, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce. It is the second-oldest mosquito control district in the state. Reducing mosquitoes is not only for quality of life but to protect against mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika.

Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s Martin County watchdog, environment and fisheries reporter. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida county to vote on expanding mosquito control district

Reporting by Timothy O’Hara, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers

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This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 11:11 AM.