With summertime approaching, there’s one thing none of us are looking forward to. The warmest season of the year is also mosquito season, and that means plenty of obnoxious buzzing and itchy bites when we’re trying to enjoy time outside.
But mosquitoes aren’t just annoying. While most of us associate mosquitoes with malaria, which isn’t extremely common in the United States, the insects can actually carry a range of other diseases.
The good news: Of the over 200 types of mosquitoes present in the US, only about 12 of them can actually transmit disease.
The bad news, of course, is that it’s pretty much impossible to determine which type of mosquito is biting you. And unfortunately, some of the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, while uncommon, can also be very serious. West Nile virus, Zika virus, Dengue, Chikungunya, and even malaria outbreaks do occur in the United States.
When mosquitoes bite people infected with these viruses, the germ can multiply within the mosquito’s body. Within weeks the virus has moved into the salivary glands of the mosquito, where it can then be transmitted to another bite victim.
When an outbreak of mosquito-borne illness does occur, we can take precautions to limit our time outdoors, wear mosquito repellants, and even plant certain herbs or flowers around our gardens that discourage mosquitos from taking up residence. Lavender, marigolds, bee balm, citronella, and others serve this purpose. And of course, emptying all containers of water, and preventing puddling in your yard will deprive mosquitoes of their preferred breeding grounds.
But of course, no preventive method works perfectly all of the time. If you discover the presence of mosquitoes in your yard this summer, and you want to be extra cautious, call us for professional pest control services. We can treat your yard for these obnoxious bugs, and help you protect yourself and your family.