Medical Health Encyclopedia

Eliminate Sources of Standing Water. Currently, the only proven method for reducing mosquito populations is to eliminate sources of standing water.

• Look for any source of standing water, where mosquitoes can breed. For example, discard any rubbish with standing water, such as old tires, cans, and bottles. (Even bottle caps can breed mosquitoes. Turn over wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use. Change bird bath water every three to four days. A product called Mosquito Dunk can be used to prevent breeding in standing water.
• Swimming pools and hot tubs should be clean and chlorinated or drained and covered if not in use.
• Clean vegetation and debris from the edges of ponds.
• Gutters should be kept unclogged.

Mosquito Traps. There are a number of mosquito traps now available that use various methods for repelling or attracting and trapping the insects. Effective traps are expensive and they usually require electricity or propane, which adds to the cost. Mosquito trap machines should only be used outdoors. While many traps can draw in significant numbers of mosquitoes, they have limitations and should not be relied on for sole protection.

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All baits should be designed to attract the female mosquito, which is the primary transmitter of the viruses. However, different baits may be more or less effective. Some may even attract one species and not others. For example, a comparative study of three traps that used similar attractants found, that after 20 hours, the Magnet Liberty and Mosquito Trap MK01 attracted 75 percent of mosquitoes in a single area, while the Sonic Web had attracted only 25 precent. However, all three traps tended to attract twice as many Aedes mosquitoes (which carry La Cross and Eastern Equine encephalitis) as the Culex (which transmits West Nile and St. Louis Encephalitis).