ZIKA MOSQUITOES
- Zika mosquitoes are tiny
- They attack with supreme stealth, biting in full daylight with no buzz & no sting
- They carry viruses that can be lethal to their preferred food source - people
- “They have an amazing ability to recognize human odor
WHERE THEY HIDE OUT
- They don’t have a lot of stamina in the air.
- Their flight range is just 300 to 600 feet
- As a result, insecticidal sprays mostly don’t work on this breed, because it’s hard to catch
them airborne - To feed, they have to stick close to their intended targets - preople
- They live under decks, patio furniture & in homes that don’t have air conditioning
- They especially love the drip trays that collect extra water under potted plants
- They can breed in incredibly small amounts of water
1. They were found in New Jersey in water that had pooled in discarded snack-size potato
chip bags
2. These mosquitoes are in people’s backyards & they live in containers
3. They found these mosquitos mainly in buckets, in the drip trays under potted plants &
in little pools of water than collect in the crevices of outdoor equipment like lawn mowers
& air conditioners
4. Even in the most manicured, clutter-free yards, they found infestations like the corrugated
extenders that people attach to downspouts to direct rainwater away from their homes
5. The El Nino weather pattern brings warmer, wetter winter weather which allows these
insects to hatch earlier & breed longer so there may be more mosquitoes this year in
the areas El Nino will hit
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOME
- The Zika virus is spread when a mosquito bites an infected person, then bites an uninfected person and passes the virus
- Most infected people don’t show symptoms
- The virus is suspected of causing microcephaly in babies of infected pregnant women,
although a cause & effect link hasn’t been definitely established - Microcephaly causes devastating, sometimes fatal brain damage & can result in miscarriage
or stillbirth - The CDC has warned women who are pregnant or may become pregnant to consider postponing travel to more than 25 countries & territories in Central and South America & the Caribbean
- To protect yourself, experts agree that the most important thing to do is to get rid of standing water in & around your house
1. Empty buckets or watering cans
2. If you have a rain barrel, treat it with a non-toxic product designed to kill mosquito larvae.
3. Drill holes in your trash or recycling bins so they don’t collect water
4. Even though it’s a pain to disconnect them, unscrew & empty downspout extenders at least
once every 5 days which is how long it takes mosquito eggs to hatch
5. If you’ve got plants in containers, empty their drip trays at least once a week
6. If you have outdoor furniture covers that may hold pockets of water after a rainstorm
7. Try to cover any outdoor equipment, like a barbecue grill, so it doesn’t collect water in
places you can’t see or reach
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
- Zika mosquitoes like to bite below the knees, so long pants (you could wear them under
a skirt) & socks are important - Wear long sleeves
- Use a mosquito repellent
1. DEET
2. PICARIDIN which is a slightly less greasy alternative - If you’re sitting on a porch or patio
1. Use box fans to create a strong breeze around your feet & legs
2. This helps because mosquitoes don’t do well in wind
3. A draft helps set up a mechanical barrier & it also helps blow away all the human odors
that cue them to your warm-blooded presence
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