It's that time of year again. Mosquitoes normally make their first appearance in St. Charles County during the month of May. Exactly when they appear depends on spring temperatures and rainfall, but we can be sure they will be here buzzing and biting.
Since most of us will be inundated with mosquito "tips" in upcoming months, I won't repeat that advice here. Look for it in your local newspaper and on radio and television or follow the link below. The tips REALLY DO WORK and you can help reduce the overall mosquito population in your neighborhood by following the recommendations. But, after removing all the hype, what makes sense in dealing with mosquitoes? It is really as simple as thinking about two basic reasons for personal protection and two approaches to reducing the number of mosquitoes you have to deal with.
There are really two reasons to protect yourself and your children from mosquito bites:
1 - Bites are a nuisance and depending on the number of mosquitoes can be a minor or a major nuisance. A female mosquito must have a "blood meal" to successfully reproduce. When you furnish the meal the bite site becomes swollen and itchy. This is because she injects an anticoagulant as she bites and it is an irritant. Children can be especially miserable if they have suffered multiple mosquito bites. Protection using a mosquito repellent containing DEET is an obvious and simple means of avoiding discomfort.
2 - From mid to late June until the first frost or freeze, mosquitoes can carry disease. That disease is transmitted to humans by mosquito bites. The two most likely diseases in the St. Charles County area are West Nile Virus and St. Louis encephalitis. You can read about them on the Centers for Disease Control website, here:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/list_mosquitoborne.htm
These two diseases are relatively rare in humans in the United States but they can lead to severe illness and death. When we look at the always present nuisance aspect of mosquito bites and realize that by using mosquito repellant to prevent bites we not only avoid the discomfort of a mosquito bite but protect against the small chance of contracting a serious illness as well, then I believe common sense tells us to USE REPELLANTS. They are safe to use, cheap and available almost everywhere we shop.
A second way to reduce the number of possible bites is to reduce the number of mosquitoes in your neighborhood. The two actions you can take to do this are:
1 - You can eliminate conditions on your property that can provide breeding habitat for mosquitoes. You can read about what steps you can take by going here: www.scchealth.org/docs/ph/ph_docs/phehs/mosquito/mosquito.html
If everyone in a neighborhood follows these steps the reduction in mosquitoes can be dramatic.
2 - You can also report mosquito problems in your neighborhood by calling the Division of Public Health at 636-949-7404. The Division's Mosquito Control Officer constantly monitors the reports coming in. When it is apparent that a particular neighborhood has a growing nuisance problem the area will be added to the nighttime spraying schedule. In addition, there is constant daytime larviciding activity underway during the summer months. Larviciding involves treating areas of standing water that show evidence of mosquito breeding by adding small amounts of safe chemicals to the water that either kill mosquito larvae or prevent them from developing into adults. Your phone call can help us in our search to find areas that need larviciding.
Mosquitoes will always be with us. In many parts of the world mosquito-borne disease is a major cause of severe illness and death. We are fortunate in the United States to have a less tropical climate and professionally designed and operated mosquito control programs in most communities. We also have access to effective and inexpensive repellents. All that you need to add is "common sense" and any worries about mosquitoes will go away.