MOSQUITO MADNESS!!

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM MOSQUITOES

More spring rains than usual and summer heat bring mosquitoes. You can reduce your exposure by taking some simple, common sense precautions to avoid bites from these pesky insects.

Eliminating places where mosquitoes can breed is the best way to control them. The Fort Worth Public Health Department offers the following suggestions to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home and yard:

*Get rid of old tires, buckets or any containers that hold standing water or empty them regularly.
*Empty plastic wading pools weekly and store them indoors or upside down when not in use.
*Repair leaky pipes and outside faucets.
*Make sure water-cooler drain hoses empty properly.
*Change water in birdbaths and scrub them twice each week.
*Empty pets' watering pans daily.
*Clean clogged roof gutters.
*Treat standing water that can't be drained with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti). Bti (commonly known as a mosquito dunk) is available at most hardware or garden stores.

PREVENT MOSQUITO BITES

To prevent mosquito bites, which is how mosquito-borne diseases are spread, the Public Health Department advises you to follow the four Ds:

*Dusk and dawn are the times of day you should try to stay indoors. This is when infected mosquitoes are most active.
*Dress in long sleeves and pants when you're outside. For extra protection, you may want to spray thin clothing with repellent.
*DEET is an ingredient to look for in your insect repellent. Always wear repellent when outdoors, and choose products that contain up to 20 percent DEET. Be sure to read manufacturer instructions before applying any insect repellant.
*Drain standing water in your backyard and neighborhood -- old tires, flowerpots and clogged rain gutters. These are mosquito-breeding sites.

While you do your part to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, the City of Fort Worth continues to partner with the Tarrant County Public Health Department to sample mosquitoes for disease and eliminate breeding sites. City health experts routinely treat standing water or ponds to eliminate mosquito larvae and obtain samples that are tested by the county.

MOSQUITO SPRAYING HAS LIMITATIONS

Because spraying for mosquitos is sometimes ineffective and poses some risks to humans, Fort Worth Public Health Department officials stress the importance of personal action and source reduction to prevent bites.

However, when mosquito larvae are found by the Public Health Department, larvacide is sometimes applied in areas infested with the pesky insect.

Spraying, though, isn't generally used because it only temporarily reduces the number of adult mosquitoes in the immediate vicinity. To adequately kill off mosquitoes, the pesticide must make direct contact with the insect.

Toxins used in sprays also have side effects that can outweigh the positive impact.

Finally, spraying for mosquitoes may give residents a false sense of security. The risk of someone being infected with a mosquito-borne disease, like West Nile virus, might then increase if fewer people decide to personally protect themselves.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Fort Worth Public Health Department