Eliminating Mosquitos

John Wilson

Nothing spoils working in your garden or an enjoyable evening in the backyard quicker than being swarmed by mosquitos. The recent rains have provided relief for farmers and homeowners, but they also cause problems for anyone working outside. Rain creates ideal sites with standing water for mosquitoes to develop.

To reduce this problem, eliminate mosquito breeding areas that catch and hold water. Check for leaf-clogged gutters, puddles, bird baths, old tires, cans, bottles, lagoons, and children’s wading pools. Drain water from these when practical. Rinse out your bird bath weekly.

Still water in birdbaths, ponds or lagoons may also be treated with Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, in the form of biscuits, available at some garden and hardware stores. The sustained release of the active ingredients of these products may provide up to 30 days control of mosquito larvae. These products specifically attack mosquito larvae and will not harm fish or birds or wildlife that drink the water.

Only female mosquitoes possess piercing-sucking mouthparts and require a blood meal to produce viable eggs. Eggs are laid in batches between blood meals. A single female may deposit several hundred eggs in her lifetime. Under favorable conditions, a new generation of mosquitoes can be completed in less than a week.

To keep mosquitoes out of your home, check all doors, windows and window screens, to make sure these are tight and in good repair. Screens should be 1/16th-inch mesh or smaller to prevent mosquito entry into the home. Keep porch lights off as much as possible in the evening. Or, replace traditional white light bulbs with yellow ones to help reduce the attractiveness of your home to mosquitoes and other night-flying insects.

To prevent mosquito bites when working outside, wear long-sleeved shirts and full length pants. Two layers of clothing are more difficult to penetrate by biting mosquitoes. Wearing light-colored clothes will reduce also your attractiveness. Work outdoors when it is cooler, or when there is a brisk air movement or strong sunlight. Different species of mosquitoes have specific feeding periods, but many are most active in the early evening hours, generally from 5 to 9 p.m.

But, because female mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide that we exhale, using an insect repellent while outdoors may be the most important method to prevent mosquito bites. You can use repellents containing DEET. These come under numerous brand labels and many formulations such as lotions, gels, aerosols, creams, and sticks.

Mosquitoes are always a nuisance, but they can also pose a health risk because of their potential to transmit West Nile Virus (WNV). In humans, WNV causes flu-like symptoms such as fever and muscle weakness. WNV can also cause encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain), disorientation, convulsions and paralysis. People over 50 and those with weak immune systems are especially vulnerable to the disease and should take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

The Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department will be working with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services West Nile Virus Surveillance Program this summer to monitor for West Nile virus. West Nile is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird and in turn the mosquito can transmit the virus to humans.

This year, testing will only be done on corvid species of birds (blue jays or crows in our area). If you find a dead bird, and it is in good condition and has been dead less than 24 hours, please double bag the bird in sealable plastic bags, freeze it, and immediately contact the Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department at 877-379-4400. Testing will only be conducted on birds that are in good condition with no evidence of maggots or rotting.

The goal of the surveillance program is to collect dead birds for submission to a laboratory for testing. Finding the virus in birds provides an indicator to public health officials of the level of the virus in the area and the risk to human beings of contracting the disease.

For more information on mosquito control, or on the WNV Surveillance Program, contact your local UNL Extension office.