Published: July 08, 2008 05:09 pm            

Prevention the key

Take necessary steps to avoid those mosquitoes

FAIRMONT — The monsoon-like weather that has produced a series of drenching thunderstorms every few days for the last month or so is perfect for mosquitoes, experts say.

Keeping them, or more specifically, the female mosquito from lighting on your skin for a liquid meal of your blood is a matter of prevention, said Lloyd White.

Standing water is the prime breeding ground for mosquitoes, he said.

“It’s the best breeding area there is for mosquitoes,” said White, administrator of the Marion County Public Health Department.

“Like anything else, prevention is the key.” In recent years, the spread of the West Nile virus has made prevention more important.

The mosquito-borne virus causes an infection that can lead to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), the spinal cord (myelitis) or the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).

White said property owners should check their yards and swimming pools to abate standing-water problems.

“Some people neglect their pools as the summer wears on. They let the water turn green,” White said. That’s a big mistake, he said.

Even if they are not using their pools, “people should keep the levels of chlorine in them at the acceptable level,” to prevent mosquitoes from using it as giant breeding area.

Avid gardeners who collect rainwater by directing gutters into standing barrels should be careful to check those containers on a regular basis, White said.

The stormwater barrels should be covered.

Removing old tires from your property is also a good way to forestall mosquitoes from taking over your yard.

Those little pools of water that collect in an old tire are a perfect haven for mosquito larvae, he said.

Pharmacist Jerry Boyers at Rider Pharmacy, 303 Merchant St. on Fairmont’s East Side, said “with all the rain we’ve had, you’ll see puddles where normally there wouldn’t be any.”

“Anytime you have standing water, that’s a prime mosquito breeding place. It doesn’t take them long,” Boyers said.

The next step is using repellents for your skin, or in the case of campers and fishermen and other outdoor lovers, your clothing as well.

At the Web site for WebMD, online advice is available at this address: www.webmd.com.

Effective repellents contain either DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) or Picaridin (KBR 3023) states an article on mosquito repellents.

The federal Centers for Disease Control recommends the use of products containing DEET or Picaridin.

The two ingredients have proven most effective in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

While no insect repellent is 100 percent effective, products with these ingredients provide “longer-lasting protection than others,” the Web site states.

Boyer said products like “Off” and “Cutter” are popular repellents that have been found safe for human use.

Products containing the ingredient “permethrin” are recommended for clothing, shoes, bed nets and camping gear.

Always use insect repellents in accord with the product’s label.

Do not use skin repellents under clothing.

Other tips are:

• Never use repellents over cuts, wounds or irritated skin.

• Apply sparingly, and do not apply to eyes or mouth.

• DEET-based repellents may be used along with a separate sunscreen.

Other mosquito-avoidance tips from the WebMD site are:

• Stay indoors at dawn, at dusk and in the early evening, times when mosquitoes are most active.

• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants whenever you are outdoors and are likely to be where mosquitoes are.

• Avoid wearing floral fragrances from perfumes, soap, hair care products and lotions.

Boyer also recommends wearing light-colored clothing.

For more advice, talk to your pharmacist, he suggests.

White said more information on mosquito prevention and protection is available by calling the county health department at 367-1746 (the environmental health section).

E-mail Bill Byrd at bbyrd@timeswv.com.

        

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