The mosquito season in Georgia is officially at its highest point, which is made even more evident by the report of the first human case of West Nile virus for 2017. Health officials in DeKalb County are diligently working to prevent additional infections from occurring, which could prove to be a daunting task, considering this is a particularly bad year in terms of the mosquito threat. So, we’re helping to get the word out about what people can do to reduce the risk of contracting this and other mosquito-borne viruses.
We had a lot of rain in June. This is good and bad news when it comes to mosquitoes. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in any location that can contain water. In fact, a single bottle cap full of water can add several hundred mosquitoes to the population in one season. The heavy rain we got in June caused many containers to overflow and push mosquito eggs out onto the ground, where they were able to be dried in the sun and eliminated. But that rain has set up the conditions for a lot more mosquitoes to develop in September, October and even November–weather permitting.
What you need to know most about this increased population of mosquitoes is that there is something you can do to protect yourself from them. Most people think mosquitoes are an inevitable pest, but they actually aren’t. When you prevent mosquitoes in your yard, you have a wider impact than you think. This is because mosquitoes don’t travel very far in their 2-month lifespan. The typical mosquito isn’t likely to go more than 300 yards from where it was born. That means the mosquitoes that are biting you in your yard probably came from your yard. When you actively work to dry things out and prevent still water from accumulating, you can reduce your chances of being bitten.
Okay. So, what about the mosquitoes that will come into my yard from my neighbor’s yard? This is where it helps to have a professional pest specialist treat your yard. You can make it hard or impossible for mosquitoes to multiply on your property, but that won’t stop your neighbor’s mosquitoes from biting you. This is done by having your yard treated by a professional. Mosquitoes hide from the sun during the day. When they do, they will use shaded locations in your yard. If these are treated with a knockdown agent, those mosquitoes will not only be unable to bite you any longer, they will not be alive to lay eggs in your yard or anyone’s yard.
West Nile virus is a threat in Georgia. But, if we all take part in mosquito abatement, we can significantly reduce the risk that this and other dangerous mosquito-borne diseases present. To learn more, or to schedule service for your Georgia property, give us a call.