HOUSTON, Texas - Health officials in Texas have asked for and will receive help from Youngstown's 910th airlift wing to control mosquitoes expected in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

The Texas Department of State Health Services says rain left behind by Harvey has created large areas where mosquitoes can lay their eggs.

As a result, the state has activated its contract for aerial mosquito control and requested additional mosquito control assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In addition to flights conducted by an environmental services contractor, state health officials say they are expecting support from the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s two specially equipped C-130H cargo planes in the coming days in areas over the upper Texas coast.

Four C-130's are expected to leave the Youngstown Air Reserve Station Friday afternoon as they head to the Gulf Coast.

The 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station works under the Department of Defense for the aerial spray mission to control disease-carrying insects, pest insects, undesirable vegetation and to disperse oil spills in large bodies of water.

Their missions take place over combat areas, Department of Defense installations or in response to disasters and emergencies as declared by the President of the United States.

In 1999, crews sprayed 1.7 million acres over Virginia and North Carolina to regulate a mosquito infestation after Hurricane Andrew.

The 910th also treated 2,880,662 acres over Louisiana and Texas to control mosquitoes and filth flies after Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The aerial spray mission was given $3 million in 2008 to upgrade to an aerial spray targeting GPS.

The system was tested after Hurricane Gustav mosquito sprays, where more than 771,000 acres were treated in Louisiana.

In May 2009, the spray flight performed the industry’s largest effective larvicide aerial spray application over Army Corps of Engineers land near Williston, ND, reducing larval mosquito populations by over 95 percent.