The Virginia Department of Health says mosquitoes are the bane of summertime life. Not only are they annoying and irritating, but they are also one of the world’s most dangerous spreaders of disease. West Nile virus, La Crosse encephalitis, Eastern equine encephalitis, malaria, and a host of other diseases can stem from a simple mosquito bite.
A press release says as dangerous as they are, controlling them can be rather simple and straightforward. Therefore, on World Mosquito Day, observed every Aug. 20, health officials shine a spotlight on these tiny insects, the big problems they can cause, and the simple steps people can take to control them.
Worldwide, for example, malaria claims up to half a million lives. Here in Virginia, the most common disease mosquitos are known to transmit through their bites is the West Nile virus (WNV). When you’ve been infected by the West Nile virus, the symptoms can include a headache, fever, joint pain, a rash, and vomiting. Mild WNV cases can last from 3-6 days, while moderate to severe cases can linger from weeks to up to three to six months. Some people may die from the illness or be left neurologically impaired for life.
And it’s looking as if the West Nile season is getting underway earlier than usual this year in Virginia. Surveillance programs in the local health districts have already detected the presence of West Nile virus in local mosquito populations in Central, Eastern, and Northern Virginia.
The public can take several steps to protect themselves from mosquitoes and the diseases they spread.
One of the most obvious steps is to wear long sleeves and pants and limit the amount of exposed skin when you’re outside in the evening and at night. And as the prime vectors of WNV only fly and bite from dusk to dawn and have a tendency to fly through open, unscreened windows to bite sleeping people indoors, one should not sleep with windows open unless they are well screened.
And when you are outside in the evening hours, consider wearing mosquito repellents on bare arms, legs, neck and other exposed areas of skin. Effective repellents include those containing one or more of the following repellents:
DEET
Picaridin
IR3535
Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE)
Para-menthane-diol (PMD)
2-undercanone.
At night, be sure to close your home’s windows, or make sure that your window screens are closed and in good condition.
Check outside your home property to be sure there are no containers of standing water, as these can serve as the perfect breeding grounds for the mosquito species that can carry WNV. Things like backyard wading pools, ornamental ponds, bird baths, neglected swimming pools, flowerpot trays, buckets, and used tires can all serve as sources of standing water for mosquitoes to breed in. Bird baths, ornamental ponds and wading pools should either be treated, dumped / drained and rinsed / washed out on a weekly basis before being refilled. Containers of water that cannot be dumped or drained should be regularly treated with mosquito larvicide dunks.
You may learn more about mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases at the Virginia Department of Health website.
