A Mississippi man said he is fighting mosquitoes in his yard so bad that he can't even go outside.
Earl Johnson's property is surrounded by mosquito breeding grounds.
Johnson says that every time it rains he has to come out and spray because the mosquitoes get so bad that he can't go out in the yard, his kids can't go out in the yard, and his dog can't go out in the yard.
"I just spray the whole yard with it. It might hold them for like maybe a week or two, but after that a week or two once it rains it washes away, they come back twice as bad," Johnson said.
One of the problems Johnson said is an adjacent overgrown property. The property owner lives out of town and has defied orders to clean it up.
So the city has cleaned it up twice.
"It's grown up. It's gotten way out of hand. The mosquitoes have gotten real bad, real bad." Johnson said.
Johnson said that's not the end of his mosquito troubles. There is an old tire shop that backs up to his property. Hundreds of discarded tires, a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
"I can't tell you what the situation is with the tires right there," Johnson said.
The city attorney said if Johnson wants the properties cleaned up, he'll have to go before the mayor and board.
Johnson said he's been before the board before to no avail, but he is going again.
"I can't even stand out in my yard," Johnson said.
The city attorney told FOX13Memphis that every time a property owner refuses to clean up, the city bills them.
However, in many cases the out-of-town property owners don't pay and it's the taxpayers who wind up footing the bill.
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