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West Nile Virus Home >

Fight The Bite!
Avoid Mosquito Bites to Avoid Infection

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When dealing with West Nile virus, prevention is your best bet. Fighting mosquito bites reduces your risk of getting this disease, along with others that mosquitoes can carry. Take the commonsense steps below to reduce your risk:

  • avoid bites and illness;

  • clean out the mosquitoes from the places where you work and play;

  • help your community control the disease.

Something to remember: The chance that any one person is going to become ill from a single mosquito bite remains low. The risk of severe illness and death is highest for people over 50 years old, although people of all ages can become ill.

 
Avoid Mosquito Bites
Look for the DEET Labelcheck Use Insect Repellent
on exposed skin when you go outdoors. Use an EPA-registered insect repellent such as those with DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Even a short time being outdoors can be long enough to get a mosquito bite. For details on when and how to apply repellent, see Insect Repellent Use and Safety in our Questions and Answers pages. See also Using Insect Repellent Safely from the EPA.
Man spraying DEET over clothing

Get double protection: wear long sleeves during peak mosquito biting hours, and spray repellent directly onto your clothes.

check Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites
When weather permits, wear long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors. Mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so spraying clothes with repellent containing permethrin or another EPA-registered repellent will give extra protection. Don't apply repellents containing permethrin directly to skin. Do not spray repellent on the skin under your clothing
.

check Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours
The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many species of mosquitoes. Take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing during evening and early morning -- or consider avoiding outdoor activities during these times.
 
Mosquito-Proof Your Home
Drain standing water from around your home
Drain standing water from around your home
check Drain Standing Water
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water.Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by getting rid of items that hold water. Need examples? Learn more on the Prevention of West Nile Virus Question and Answer page.
 
check Install or Repair Screens
Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having well-fitting screens on both windows and doors. Offer to help neighbors whose screens might be in bad shape.  
Help Your Community
check Report Dead Birds to Local Authorities
Dead birds may be a sign that West Nile virus is circulating between birds and the mosquitoes in an area. Over 130 species of birds are known to have been infected with West Nile virus, though not all infected birds will die. It's important to remember that birds die from many other causes besides West Nile virus.

By reporting dead birds to state and local health departments, you can play an important role in monitoring West Nile virus. State and local agencies have different policies for collecting and testing birds, so check the Links to State and Local Government Sites page to find information about reporting dead birds in your area. Click here for more info about reporting dead birds and dealing with bird carcasses. 
   

check Mosquito Control Programs
Check with local health authorities to see if there is an organized mosquito control program in your area. If no program exists, work with your local government officials to establish a program. The American Mosquito Control Association can provide advice, and their book Organization for Mosquito Control is a useful reference.

A report overview of Public Health Confronts the Mosquito: Sustainable State and Local Mosquito Control Programs by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is located on this website, including "what you can do" about mosquito control. The entire final report from the Mosquito Control Collaborative is also online.

More questions about mosquito control? A source for information about pesticides and repellents is the National Pesticide Information Center, which also operates a toll-free information line: 1-800-858-7378 (check their Web site for hours).

   
check Clean Up
Mosquito breeding sites can be anywhere. Neighborhood clean up days can be organized by civic or youth organizations to pick up containers from vacant lots and parks, and to encourage people to keep their yards free of standing water. Mosquitoes don't care about fences, so it's important to control breeding sites throughout the neighborhood.
   
check Find out more about local prevention efforts
Find state and local West Nile virus information and contacts on the Links to State and Local Government Sites page.
Avoid Mosquito Bites Mosquito-Proof Your Home Help Your Community


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Date last modified: November 2, 2007
Content source:
Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases
National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases

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