Should You Worry About Mosquito-Borne Diseases in Georgia?

A Mosquito, Possibly Infected with Mosquito-Borne Disease, Bites a Human in Georgia

Mosquito biting a person in georgia with unknown risks about mosquito-borne disease transmission possibility

In Georgia, the warm spring and summer evenings are often accompanied by the unwelcome buzz of mosquitoes. While mostly a minor irritant, it’s crucial to remember that mosquitoes can also be carriers of serious diseases. Malaria and Zika virus dominate headlines globally, but our local region must remain vigilant about Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus. These diseases are rare, but real risks exist. 

In this blog, we’re here to set the record straight with facts about mosquito-borne illnesses in Georgia, helping you understand the risks and how to protect your loved ones.

Do Mosquitoes in Georgia Carry Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)?

Yes, mosquitoes in Georgia can transmit Eastern Equine Encephalitis, although cases are rare. This virus can affect humans and horses, posing a severe risk in the few instances of human infection. While there is a vaccine available for horses, no such vaccine exists for humans, emphasizing the importance of prevention. 

Here are some symptoms to watch for:

  • Sudden onset of headache
  • High fever
  • Chills
  • Vomiting
  • Severe neurological issues (in extreme cases)

Do Mosquitoes in Georgia Carry West Nile Virus?

Yes, mosquitoes in Georgia are also carriers of West Nile Virus. Although again rare, the potential for infection exists and should not be underestimated. The Georgia Department of Health has recorded 81 cases between 2018 and 2022, proving that vigilance is necessary. Most people infected with West Nile Virus may not exhibit symptoms, but it’s vital to be aware of the signs, especially since severe cases can lead to serious health issues. 

Symptoms include:

  • Mild fever
  • Headache
  • Muscle pain
  • Fatigue
  • Neurological effects in severe cases

Which Mosquito-Borne Diseases Are in Georgia?

How big of a risk are mosquito-borne diseases in Georgia really? Let’s go down the list of common mosquito-borne diseases and whether there have been any recent locally transmitted cases.

  • Malaria: No recent cases
  • Dengue: No local cases – about five cases per year occur after travel
  • Schistosomiasis: None
  • Yellow Fever: No recorded cases
  • Zika Virus: No record of any locally transmitted cases in Georgia

Good news, right? The risk is relatively low. While that is true, it’s important to remember that malaria and Zika cases have been reported in Florida, just one state away. This underscores the fact that even though the current risk is low, continued vigilance is still important.

Why Is It Important to Monitor Mosquitoes Even If They Don’t Carry Disease?

Mosquito monitoring remains critical even in regions where disease transmission is currently low. The keyword here is “currently.” Mosquito populations and the diseases they carry can shift geographically over time. Changes in climate and human movement can introduce new mosquito-borne diseases to areas previously unaffected. 

However, by keeping an eye on these populations and potential disease carriers, we can stay one step ahead of possible future outbreaks.

Call Georgia’s Mosquito Control Experts Today

While the risk of contracting mosquito-borne diseases in Georgia remains low, the presence of diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile Virus underlines the importance of proactive mosquito control. 

In a state known for its humid climate, mosquito populations can thrive, making professional mosquito control not just a convenience but a necessity. Protect your home and family; call us today for a free estimate on comprehensive mosquito control services.

What’s With All The Mosquitoes?

We’ve had a lot of wet weather recently. Have you noticed? Whether you’ve noticed the weather or not, mosquitoes sure noticed it. Let’s take a look at how foul weather makes more foul mosquitoes, and explore a couple of things we can do about them.

What happens when it rains? If your answer was, “It gets wet,” congratulations, you’re exactly right. Rain makes stuff wet. And, if the sun doesn’t dry that rainwater up, mosquitoes take advantage of it. Here are a few examples:

  • If you have an area of your yard that gets a lot of shade, there is a greater chance that you’ll have puddles that won’t dry up shortly after it rains. Mosquitoes will use those puddles to lay their eggs and produce more mosquitoes in your yard.
  • If you have objects in your yard that collect rainwater such as toys, a tarp, stacked construction materials, or the top of a parked vehicle, you have the conditions for mosquitoes to breed.
  • If you have a gutter that is obstructed by sticks and leaves, this will act as a dam. The water held up by that tiny dam will be more than enough for mosquitoes to breed in.
  • If you have hard ground, concrete, or some other firm surface that holds puddles for longer than a day, that could be long enough for mosquito eggs to hatch.

More rain makes all of the above a breeding ground for mosquitoes. It also makes the wooded, shaded areas, more of a breeding ground as well. If you live near a swamp, you probably don’t notice when there are more mosquitoes than usually but folks who live in relatively dry areas sure do. Mosquitoes take quick advantage of still, stagnant water.
Is there anything we can do? Yup! We don’t have to put up with all those mosquitoes. Here are four important things you need to know about mosquitoes:

  • The average mosquito doesn’t travel more than 300 yards in its entire life. If you’re getting mosquito bites in your backyard, those mosquitoes probably didn’t travel very far to bite you.
  • When you have breeding sites controlled or treated, you reduce the number of mosquitoes that will breed in your yard.
  • When you have the vegetation in your yard treated for mosquitoes, you will be destroying mosquitoes that would have bred in your neighbor’s yard.
  • When you reduce mosquitoes on your property, you are also reducing the number of mosquitoes that would have come back into your yard after breeding in your neighbor’s yard.

Don’t let the foul weather make your yard or your neighborhood a mosquito paradise. Get ongoing mosquito reduction service from a professional, and stop the cycle.

Tips to Reduce Mosquito Harborage Areas

Take back your yard! Don’t you want to go outside and enjoy the sun again or the late night bonfires without the threat of mosquitoes? Of course you do. Atlanta is the best place for outdoor fun and gatherings, but unwanted guests can spoil the fun too quickly. Stop giving mosquitoes a place to stay and make babies. To get rid of mosquitoes at the source, reduce their mosquito harborage areas.

Where Do Mosquitoes Like to Lay Their Eggs?

There is one thing you should think about all the time to prevent mosquitoes: WATER! Not just any water, but standing water. If you are like most people, you can think about the places around your home where standing water is a problem – puddles, old kiddie pools, and the neighbor’s old pool. But there are many more places that you may not even know about where mosquitoes like to lay their eggs:

  • Clogged Gutters
  • Birdbaths
  • Koi ponds and other decorative ponds
  • Rain barrels
  • Creek behind or through your yard
  • Mud

Quick Facts About Mosquito Eggs

The babies that come from the eggs aren’t exactly newborns you would throw a party for. They are resilient and will cause a lot of trouble. Here are a few interesting – or frightening – facts about mosquito eggs.

  • Eggs can survive in dry soil through winter and spring months until the rain arrives.
  • Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in areas as small as a soda bottle cap.
  • When mosquitoes hatch, they spend the first week and a half of their lives in water.
  • Mosquitoes can lay more than 300 eggs at a time, and at least 3 times during their lifetimes.
  • A female mosquito can lay egg clusters in areas as shallow as 1 inch of water.

How to Prevent Mosquitoes

The truth is that preventing mosquitoes on your property is a challenging job. Mosquitoes need standing water, but they don’t need a lot of it. Sure, you could dump out the standing water in flower pots, rinse out the old pool, and clean the birdbath, but there are places you can’t see. That is where professional services come in.

Active Pest Control will do a free inspection before making a recommendation to treat mosquito harborage areas at your home. We offer three levels of pest control service to keep your home free from pests and the places they hide and breed. Call now to schedule your inspection.

Mosquito Swarms In March

Do you remember that nice warm patch of weather we had in March? During that time, we had sightings of mosquitoes and swarms in our area. Fortunately, we had another cold snap and those swarms disappeared. But they are an indication of what is to come.

The mild winter we just had did little to reduce mosquitoes here in Georgia, and we are looking at a bumper crop this spring. So, it is even more important to take precautions when it comes to preventing mosquito bites this year. With the threat of Zika and West Nile on the mind of our Georgia Department of Health, it should also be on our minds as well. While it is uncertain where, when, or if, an outbreak will happen, it never hurts to take precautions.

Personal Protection

There are some things you can do personally to protect yourself from mosquito bites. These require a little thought and some effort to put into practice.

  • Mosquito repellent is the number one way to prevent bites. The most effective repellents are the ones that have 100% DEET. If you don’t prefer to put chemicals on your skin, consider putting it on your clothing, or use a repellent with oil of lemon eucalyptus.
  • Wear long sleeves and pants if you’re able. This will give those mosquitoes less real estate to attack. But, be aware that mosquitoes can bite through some materials.
  • If you are very concerned about mosquito bites or need to go into a marshy area where there is an abundance of mosquitoes, consider wearing clothing that has netting.
  • Avoid going out in the morning or evening when mosquitoes are most active.
  • Avoid being outside while consuming alcohol. Studies have shown a correlation between alcohol consumption and attractiveness to mosquitoes.
  • Be aware that an increase in body heat, sweat, and CO2 production will make you more attractive to mosquitoes.

Property Protection

  • Get rid of the zapper. Studies have shown that bug zappers are great at drawing bugs in, but do very little to kill female (biting) mosquitoes.
  • Make sure all your screens are in good working order.
  • If you’ll be out on the deck or near the pool, consider using a fan to create a breeze. This can deter mosquitoes.
  • Reduce vegetation in your yard that collects water on their leaves, and address any areas of standing water in your yard.
  • Get mosquito service from a professional. The Aedes mosquitoes, which are the primary vectors for mosquito-borne diseases, do not generally travel more than 500 meters in their entire life. That means the mosquitoes that bite you on your property came from your property, or somewhere near your property. Mosquito service kills adult mosquitoes hiding on your property and eggs that are hidden in your yard. It also addresses areas that are ideal for mosquito breeding.

If you are in our Georgia service area, and you need assistance protecting your property from mosquitoes, Active Pest Control can help. When mosquitoes and mosquito eggs are all gone, it’s Active Pest Control.

Get Smart About Bug Spray

Sunscreen, a cool pair of shades, and yummy food are backyard essentials for summer — but don’t forget about the bug spray. With so much information out there on Zika virus, Lyme disease, and other issues with backyard bugs, as well as the concerns about repellants, it can be hard to know what to use and how. To avoid common mistakes that minimize your repellant’s benefits, use the tips below.

Top 3 tips to get the most out of your bug spray while keeping you and your family safe:

1. Spray On All Uncovered Skin
Just be sure to avoid your nose, eyes and mouth, as well as any open cuts, scrapes or burns. Bugs love sweaty skin and are drawn to body heat so be sure to coat your pulse points, too. (Around your waistband, inside your elbows, behind your knees, and the bottom of your feet are often overlooked.)

2.  Apply AFTER Sunscreen
The CDC recommends getting the most out of your skin protection by applying bug spray AFTER sunscreen. The fragrances in some sunscreens may attract mosquitoes and other pests if applied on top of bug spray. And no, those combo products aren’t as effective.

3. Reconsider DEET
Paying attention to how your body reacts to any type of product is the best way to stay safe. However, DEET is proven effective against mosquitoes and ticks, as well as fleas, chiggers, biting flies and more. While the CDC says you’re safe using a product containing up to 50% DEET, those with 15-20% will still keep bugs away — just don’t forget to reapply every few hours.

Looking for more ways to keep backyard bugs away? View our services for more info or call (678) 808-2038.

Mosquito Bites: How To Avoid Them

It’s that all about that buzz, about that buzz. This sound is all too common an occurrence. You know what I mean. You and your family head outside for some fun in the sun when you suddenly remember why people screen in their porches. Mosquitoes. Even if they didn’t, bite, I think that they would still drive us nuts with the noise and the hovering around. Annoying and dangerous, these stealth and persistent pest are #1 on the list of things that you want to avoid when you are outside.

Although it is all but impossible to completely rid yourself of these wearisome insects, there are a few things that you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones from being their victims as much. Here are some of the more popular ways that you can do just that.

Remove all standing water in and around your property. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. They are not picky about whether it’s a naturally occurring vessel of water or not. The amount of time from egg to actual mosquito varies per variety of mosquito as well as with the temperature, but some have as short as a 4 day period and others as long as 2-3 weeks. This is why it is very important to keep the amount of standing water to an absolute minimum. They will lay eggs in such familiar places as:

  • Buckets of any shape or style
  • Children’s toys
  • Lawn furniture
  • Mud puddles
  • Bird baths
  • Landscaping ponds
  • Kiddie pools
  • Drainage ditches

Keep grass, trees and shrubbery trimmed nice and short. By keeping up with the standing water you have less eggs being laid on your property and you will certainly have less mosquitoes around to be hiding in the long grass and over grown vegetation and trees. These shady and cool areas are where they like to hide during the hot and sunny part of the day. Being the least active during the hottest part of the day, this is where they lie in wait for you or their next meal to come to them. As soon as the sun starts to go down in the sky, out the come. Morning, and twilight are the times when they are most active. If they have less bunkers to hide out in, then you will have less mosquitoes around in their active times.

Wear protective clothing and or insect repellant. Covering up as much of your skin as possible lessens the area that they can bite. Use insect repellant every time you go outside. The most effective repellant will have DEET as the active ingredient. Follow all product directions carefully. DEET is a chemical and there are certain steps to take to using it correctly and safely. We recommend speaking with your doctor if you have questions about choosing or applying repellant.

Mosquitoes and mosquito borne diseases cause more human suffering than any other organism. They are a universal problem. Here are some of the diseases that they can carry:

And, believe it or not there are more. Protecting yourself and your family from these disease carrying pests is very important. The best way to know that you are doing all you can do is to have a mosquito abatement program in place during mosquito season. Here at Active Pest Control we take this task seriously. Just because mosquitoes are a common pest, doesn’t mean that they aren’t dangerous. If you have had enough with dealing with the buzz of mosquitoes than its time bring out the best tool for the job, contact us here at Active Pest Control.

 

What If We Worked Together To Rid The World Of Mosquitoes?

I’m fairly confident that no one likes to be bitten by mosquitoes. That goes without saying. But there are far worse reasons to hate those little blood suckers than an irritating sting. Mosquitoes spread disease as they feed. If it sticks its needle into a disease-carrying animal and then pokes it into your neck, it can transfer that disease to you. They are known to spread Malaria, chikungunya, dog heartworm, dengue, yellow fever, eastern equine encephalitis, human encephalitis, and other viruses.

What can anyone do about mosquitoes?

It may seem like a battle that can’t be won, but this is not entirely true. You may not be able to keep all mosquitoes off your property, but you can reduce populations and make your yard resistant to breeding.

There is no shortage of mosquitoes in the South, but you can reduce their impact on you. Modern pest management companies like Active Pest Control have treatments that kill mosquito eggs on lawns, shrubs and other greenery. This treatment kills mosquitoes on contact and bonds to foliage so eggs cannot be left in your yard to hatch when it rains. Shortly after this solution is applied, your family and pets are free to enjoy the yard–with a whole lot fewer mosquitoes to worry about.

Complete mosquito protection requires more than just a lawn treatment.

A professional like Active Pest Control will also help you get rid of wet areas where water collects, clutter in your yard that holds water, and obstructions in your gutter system that give mosquitoes a place to breed.

Can you imagine a world with a lot fewer mosquitoes?

A typical female mosquito will not fly more than 1.5 miles for a blood meal. If enough people in your neighborhood were to get their yards protected, your mosquito population would be zero. We’re a ways from that, but you’ll notice a difference even if you only worry about your own lawn.

Reduce the mosquitoes on your property, and protect your family from mosquito-spread disease. If we all do our part, we can keep our neighborhoods mosquito free. Spread the word.