Like it or not, mosquitoes are part our natural environment. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t decrease your risk of getting bit by the disease-carrying bugs, said Jamie Moore, threat preparedness coordinator for the Monongalia County Health Department and the Preparedness Action Coalition Team region — which includes Monongalia, Marion, Preston, Harrison, Taylor and Doddridge counties.
“No one activity is going to keep you completely safe,” he said. “But the more things you do, the less likely you are to get bitten.”
The Centers for Disease Control recommends using insect repellent with one of the following ingredients: DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-methane-diol or 2-undecanone. The CDC also suggested wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants when possible outside, and keeping the bugs out of your house with screens or by using air conditioning.
In addition to using insect repellent on your body and clothing when outdoors, you may consider Mosquito Dunks.
The doughnut-shaped items are available for free at the health department. Once placed in standing water, they slowly release mosquito larvicide for up to 30 days. The EPA-approved dunks are not toxic to people and are harmless to beneficial insects, pets, birds, fish and wildlife.
“You can put them in ponds or stagnant water that you can’t remove,” Moore said. “It keeps the mosquitoes from becoming adults. The dunks use a bacteria that interrupts the growth cycle.”
Dunks can be used in bird baths, flower pots, rain barrels, roof gutters, unused swimming pools, water gardens, tree holes and other places where standing water may attract mosquitoes.
He also advises residents to rid their property of any standing water, when possible.
“You have to police your own property. “They need very little water to breed,” Moore said, using the example of water that may catch in the folds of a tarp. “And one mosquito can lay thousands of eggs, so it can quickly turn into a lot.”
He said that the dunks provided by the health department may be broken into smaller pieces, to be used in areas with less water than, say, a pool.
Limiting exposure is important, as mosquitoes can transfer diseases such as yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus, Zika and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, the latter of which can affect horses in this part of the country.
“West Nile is the most prevalent disease in this region,” Moore said. “And there are others that are endemic to this state.”
Those interested in a free package of the Mosquito Dunks may call MCHD Environmental Health at 304-598-5131.
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