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Fight the bite this season
Posted 8/8/2012 Updated 8/8/2012
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by Tech. Sgt. Jody Navejas
377th Aeromedical Squadron
8/8/2012 - KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. -- It's a warm summer evening and you stroll outside your home to enjoy the night.
Suddenly, you're being eaten alive. Swatting wildly, you retreat into the house. Mosquitoes are everywhere this time of year.
We all know how pesky mosquitoes can be, but we also need to be aware that some of them carry disease. Mosquito-borne diseases include West Nile Virus, malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever. Recently, in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, mosquitoes have tested positive for the West Nile Virus. Symptoms of WNV include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches. In rare cases, meningitis and encephalitis can occur. There is no WNV vaccine for humans.
Mosquitoes need water for growth and development. Anytime there is heavy rainfall, such as during New Mexico's monsoon season, there are a lot more mosquitoes, because there are more areas for them to reproduce. The key to preventing mosquito-borne disease is eliminating sites where mosquitoes breed. If there are sites around your home that water collects, then you may be breeding and harboring mosquitoes.
Be a good neighbor and citizen and help control mosquitoes by performing the following:
- Properly discard tires, tin cans, plastic containers, bottles and other items that can hold even small amounts of water.
- Look for items or areas of your yard that may hold water, such as empty buckets and watering cans, and store them inside, fill low spots in the ground, empty water from ornamental lawn items (i.e., birdbaths, wading pools and flowerpots).
- Repair leaky pipes and outside faucets.
- Clean roof gutters annually, particularly if leaves from surrounding trees have a tendency to plug drains.
- Stock fish ponds with minnows. They eat mosquito larvae.
- Examine and repair doors and window screens for holes through which mosquitoes can enter your house.
- If possible, avoid the outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, from dusk until dawn.
If it's necessary to be outdoors, use mosquito repellent and remember to follow the label instructions for application. Use repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon, eucalyptus or IR3535 on your skin, and permethrin on clothing. Consult your doctor for the best repellent for infants and small children.
For more information about mosquitoes or mosquito-borne illness, call the Public Health Office at 846-3461.
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