Go away Mosquitoes!

Now we are entering the warmer summer months it is a good idea to clean up and reduce the threat from mosquitoes. You can reduce the bugs around your home by tiding up the garden and make it harder for mosquitoes to find breeding places. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, so check out your outdoor areas for places where water could be gathered such as old tin cans, buckets, plastic containers, children’s outdoor toys, garden pots, old tyres or similar water holding containers. Remember to check our wheelbarrows if you store them outdoors. Outdoor ponds and water gardens can be heaven of mozzies, keep the water fresh to reduce the breeding habitat.

Another useful tip is to check the base of plant pots and pet dishes, it is a good idea to change the water every two days, so mosquito larvae cannot start breeding. It can be helpful to drill holes in the base of outdoor bins, this will allow rainwater to drain out instead of collecting at the base of the outdoor containers.

Cleaning out roof gutters it important. Leaves and twigs can collect and block the flow of water and reduce the water draining into water tanks. Keeping the gutters clean is important for water collection and it is a perfect home to breed mosquitoes.

Remember to check un-used swimming pools and pool covers, and regularly clean your pool with recommended pool treatments. Don’t forget to empty children’s paddling pools water regularly. If you have a bird bath, change the water, it can quickly turn stagnate.

Keep your yard clean, check uncovered garbage containers and junk piles, they can collect water in which mosquitoes can breed. Don’t forget to repair any leaks to taps and hoses to prevent possible breeding sites.

Local Pest control specialists can also assist with reducing mosquitoes in and around your home. Here on Norfolk Island Adam is able to help, give him a call and organised getting your property treated.

Accredited Pest Control Norfolk Island

Email apcni@ninet.nf or please contact Adam on 50210.

Helpful Tips:

These tips will help you enjoy summer bite-free.

o Stay indoors during peak mosquito activity, usually at dusk and dawn.

o Proper clothing will help to avoid insect bites. Wear long-sleeves and pants and socks when possible.

o Wear light-coloured clothing.

o Find an effective insect repellent.

o Make sure your door and window screens fit tightly. Repair damaged door or window screens.

o If you don’t have screens, try to keep windows closed between dusk and dawn.

o Eliminate standing (stagnant) water on your property to eliminate mosquito breeding places.

o Avoid areas with large numbers of mosquitoes.

Did you know????

Apart from being annoying, mosquitoes potentially carried a range of diseases and that it why it is desirable to reduce their numbers as much as possible. Mosquitoes are considered the most dangerous creatures on the planet, responsible for more human deaths each year than sharks, snakes, bears and lions combined.

A few facts about Mosquitoes:

http://www.megacatch.com/mosquitofacts.html

Only female mosquitoes bite people. Both male and female feed mainly on fruit and plant nectar, but the female also needs the protein in blood to help her eggs develop. Once she's had her fill of blood, she'll rest a couple of days before laying her eggs.

Mosquitoes don't have teeth. The females “bite” with a long, pointed mouth-part called a proboscis. They use the serrated proboscis to pierce the skin and locate a capillary, then draw blood through one of two tubes.

A mosquito can drink up to three times its weight in blood. It would take about 1.2 million bites to drain all the blood from your body, so don’t worry.

Female mosquitoes can lay up to 300 eggs at a time. Usually, the eggs are deposited in clusters – called rafts – on the surface of stagnant water, or they are laid in areas that flood regularly. Eggs can hatch in as little as an inch of standing water. Females will lay eggs up to three times before they die.

The average mosquito lifespan is less than two months. Males have the shortest lives, usually 10 days or less, and females can live about six to eight weeks, under ideal conditions. The females lay eggs about every three days during that time. Females of species that hibernate may live up to six months.

Mosquitoes spend their first 10 days in water. Water is necessary for the eggs to hatch into larvae, called wigglers. Wigglers feed on organic matter in stagnant water and breathe oxygen from the surface. They develop into pupae, which do not feed and are partially encased in cocoons. Over several days, the pupae change into adult mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes can smell human breath. They have receptors on their antennae that detect the carbon dioxide released when we exhale. Those plumes of CO2 rise into the air, acting as trails that the mosquitoes follow to find the source.

Sweat helps mosquitoes choose their victims. Our skin produces more than 340 chemical odours, and some of them smell like dinner to mosquitoes. They are fond of octenol, a chemical released in sweat, as well as cholesterol, folic acid, certain bacteria, skin lotions, and perfume.

Body heat marks the target. Mosquitoes use heat sensors around their mouth-parts to detect the warmth of your body – actually, the blood inside it – then land on you and locate the best capillaries for tapping.

I found interesting mosquito information on these internet site:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/how-to-prepare-for-west-nile-virus-season-1.2667698

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/mosquito.aspx

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/clinical-practice/guidelines-procedures/diseases-infection/diseases/mosquito-borne/other

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/mosquito-borne-diseases

Betty Matthews

December 2023