As May arrives, so do mosquitoes. In fact, our department has already been receiving calls complaining of mosquitoes in some residential areas of the country. It is always hard to predict how severe a mosquito season will be. It not only depends on a compbination of rain and warmer weather but the timing of the rainfall and how hard it rains can make a big difference. "Gully-washers" can flush away developing larvae while gentler rains may just keep everything nice and wet, creating a real mosquito nursery.
In Missouri, we begin with nuisance mosquitoes that are voracious biters and make life miserable if they are presnt in large numbers. In late June r early July to the first hard freeze we see growing populations of mosquito species that are capable of transmitting disease to humans. Below is some information that I provided four years ago that still is good advice. Consider it and consider your options. Most improtantly remember that as July approaches the reason for taking precautions to protect you and your family from mosquito bites changes from avoiding discomfort to avoiding mosquito-borne diseases. More specifically, there are two reasons to protect yourself and your children from mosquito bites:
- Bites are a nuisance and depending on hte number of mosquitoes can be a minor or a major nuisance. A female mosquito must have a "blood meal" to successfuly reproduce. When you furnish the meal the bite site becomes swollen and itchy. This is because she injects an aniticoagulant 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.
- From 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 Virues and St. Louis encephalitis. You can read about them on the Centers for Disease Control Website:
http://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 repellent 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 REPELLENTS. 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:
- YOu can eliminate conditions on your property that provide breeding habitat for mosquitoes. You can read about what steps you can take by going to:
http://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. - You can also report mosquito problems in your neighborhood by calling the Division of Environmental Health and Protection at (636) 949-1800. The division's Mosquito Contol Officer constantlyu monitors the reports coming in. When it is apparent that a neighborhood has a growing nuisance problem the area will be added to the nighttime spraying schedule. In addition, there is frequent daytime larviciding activity underway during the summer months. Larviding 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 larvaciding.
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.