Mosquito control: Awareness tips to keep you safe

Fourth of July is just around the corner, but itchy mosquito bites may already be a problem in your neighborhood.
Last week was National Mosquito Control Awareness Week and he American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) has tips to help you declare independence from those pesky blood-suckers.
Pools are open and grills are going, but are you cooking up a breeding ground for mosquitoes? Standing water and dark clothing are two things that attract them. AMCA recommends people follow the three D’s to keep mosquitoes away:
—Drain: Empty out water containers at least once per week
—Dress: Wear long sleeves, long pants, and light-colored, loose-fitting clothing
—Defend: Properly apply an approved repellent such as DEET, picaridin, IR 3535 or oil of lemon-eucalyptus
Make your yard a mosquito-free zone by disposing of any tire that can breed thousands of mosquitoes; drilling holes in the bottom of recycling containers; clearing roof gutters of debris; cleaning pet water dishes regularly; checking and emptying children’s toys; repairing leaky outdoor faucets; and changing the water in bird baths at least once a week.
Joseph Conlon, AMCA Technical Advisor said, “Encouraging your neighbors to also eliminate sources on their own property is critical to a community-wide control program. Mosquitoes require water to complete their life cycle. If their water source is eliminated, so are their offspring.”
Mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance. Their bites can spread diseases such as Zika and West Nile Virus. “We already have the mosquitoes,” Joseph Conlon, AMCA Technical Advisor said. “We are continually importing the diseases they carry. We must be prepared to prevent their spread throughout our public health landscape—and this requires safe, effective, sustained mosquito control and awareness in the community.”
AMCA stresses mosquito-borne diseases do not only affect humans—they also kill countless birds, reptiles, animals and endangered species each year. Awareness of these parasites—including canine heartworm, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and Western Equine Encephalitis—is another important component of mosquito control the general public must embrace.
What is St. Mary Parish Mosquito Control doing to reduce and monitor potential disease-vectoring and nuisance mosquitoes?
—Surveillance Program: This is what St. Mary Parish Mosquito Control does to track mosquito populations through samples caught in traps set twice a week.
—Gravid trap: There are 15 gravid traps set throughout the parish. These traps are set out twice a week and target catching the Southern House Mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus). This trap is designed to attract a gravid (pregnant) mosquito; this means they have had a blood meal and could potentially be carrying a disease like West Nile virus, eastern equine encephalitis, or St. Louis encephalitis. These mosquitoes are collected and sent off to be tested weekly at the LSU Veterinary School in Baton Rouge. Thus far, St. Mary Parish Mosquito Control has sent off nearly 350 mosquito pools to be tested and none have tested positive for WNV, EEE, or SLE.
—CDC Light trap: There are 15 light traps set throughout the city. These traps are set out once a week and collect a variety of species of mosquitoes. The collections from these traps are used to target problem areas, and used to detect what species of mosquitoes we have in our parish. Knowing the type of mosquito: floodwater, permanent water, or container-breeding mosquito dictates treatment method.
—Adulticiding: This is what St. Mary Parish Mosquito Control does to attempt to control adult mosquitoes in the parish.
—Spray truck: The spray trucks run early in the morning and late in the evening (dawn and dusk). The parish is capable of running up to four spray trucks but typically runs three trucks on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The parish has 10 different spray zones that are sprayed between once and twice per week depending on mosquito population.
—Larviciding: This is what St. Mary Parish Mosquito Control does to attempt to control the aquatic life stage of the mosquito.
—Truck/ATV larviciding: These spray units are used to treat standing water and roadside ditches after rain events. The areas that are treated are areas that are known for holding water, which are common breeding areas, and are checked regularly after rain events until they dry up.
—Public Education: These are the efforts the program makes to educate the public about what they can do to prevent breeding sites around there home.