Spray Trucks Hit the 7500 Block of Emerson Lane After Second West Nile Sample of the Year

If you live near the 7500 block of Emerson Lane, the town's spray trucks already came through — two nights in a row. Flower Mound's Environmental Health Services Division confirmed that a mosquito sample collected in that block tested positive for West Nile virus. It's the second positive sample found in town this year.

Spraying ran on Wednesday, July 8, and Thursday, July 9, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., covering roughly a half-square-mile radius around the site. Both nights have passed. Residents in the affected area were notified through the Everbridge call system and by signs posted at major intersections inside the spraying zone.

Worth understanding what that spray actually does. Research shows adult mosquito spraying is only about 2–3% effective — the product has to make direct contact with a mosquito to kill it, and there's no residual effect once it settles. Flower Mound doesn't spray routinely for nuisance bugs. The contractor is dispatched only under specific conditions: a confirmed positive from a mosquito trap, or two human infections diagnosed in different households within the same area. This was a targeted response to a confirmed find.

The county picture adds context. Denton County Public Health reported its first human West Nile case of the year on Friday, July 10 — a Denton resident diagnosed with the non-neuroinvasive form of the disease. The Emerson Lane result came from a mosquito trap, not a person, but the 2026 season is clearly active.

On what infection looks like: about 1 in 5 people who contract West Nile will develop symptoms, typically appearing two to six days after a bite. Those can include fever, headache, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash. West Nile neuroinvasive disease affects fewer than 1% of people who become infected. Older adults and people with compromised immune systems carry higher risk for that severe form. Most people who get it never know they had it.

The spraying is done. What happens on your property now is what actually matters. Walk your yard today. Check for standing water in saucers under potted plants, roof gutters, flat roofs, old tires, toys, and garbage cans — anything that holds water and doesn't get emptied regularly. Change the water in birdbaths, wading pools, pet dishes, and planters several times per week. When you're outside, especially around dawn and dusk, wear long pants and long sleeves and use a repellent containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

Flower Mound Environmental Health Services is at 972-874-6340. You can sign up for Everbridge alerts at flowermound.gov/emergencynotifications so the next spray notice reaches you before the trucks do.