• Zika was first discovered in 1947.
• Zika, doesn’t infect the same mosquitoes as West Nile virus (the Culex species spreads West Nile).
• Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits Zika. The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes spread Zika, Yellow Fever, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses.
• Mosquitoes will lay eggs, often waiting for a few drops of water so they can hatch (some mosquito eggs can withstand drying for up to a year). Eggs are often found along riverbanks. Mosquitoes can develop from egg to adult in 10 to 14 days.
• Mosquitoes are not always seen since they don’t typically fly out in front of you.
• Mosquitoes are sneaky preferring to bite in the daytime while lurking close to the ground, where they are more difficult to spot (they will also feed at night). Be sure to protect and cover your legs and feet.
• Mosquitoes will breed in water collected in old tires, ditches that don’t drain, flowerpots, small jars, pet dishes, bird baths, clogged gutters and even containers as small as a bottle cap. Homeowners should empty any and all containers with standing water. Your yard could be the breeding ground.
• Mosquitoes don’t travel very far. Given the chance, they’ll even reside in the cleanest homes, preferring to hide in utility rooms, and will bite everything in sight.
• Mosquitoes spread diseases such as West Nile Virus, malaria and dengue fever.

Read more about Mosquito Bite Prevention (PDF)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, currently, there is no vaccine or medicine for the Zika Virus (CDC Website: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html).

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Did you know mosquitoes can smell their dinner from an impressive distance of up to 50 meters? Any type of carbon dioxide is attractive, even over a long distance. It’s the female mosquitoes who hunt and need human blood as protein to produce and develop fertile eggs. The male mosquitoes do not bite people.

The majority of people are unaware they’ve been bitten and contracted the West Nile Virus so most cases go unreported. Are you experiencing flu-like symptoms such as diarrhea, a stiff neck, high fever, severe headaches and muscle aches, as well as nausea or vomiting? You may be infected.

Typically, mosquito outbreaks are controlled by killing larvae and eliminating places they can hatch.

Tips to reduce your risks of being infected with a disease through a mosquito bite:
•    Limit time outdoors at dusk and nighttime hours when mosquitoes are present
•    If outdoors at dusk and dawn, wear long sleeve shirts and long pants with socks and shoes
•    Use insect repellent that contains no more than 50% DEET for adults and 30% for children
•    Install screens on all the windows and doors in your home
•    Eliminate standing water in your yard; especially in the crevices of children’s toys, bird baths, clogged gutters, tires, flowerpots, trashcans, bird baths and wheelbarrows
•    Cut back overgrown vegetation (mosquito hiding areas)

The West Nile virus is at its worst in late summer, when the disease-carrying mosquitoes reach the height of their breeding. When mosquitoes bite infected birds, become infected themselves and then bite humans, the virus is transmitted. As of now, there is no human vaccine for West Nile virus and also no treatment or cure.

Take control of your environment today, contact Southern & Sovereign Pest Control about our Mosquito yard service.

The post Is the Risk of Contracting West Nile Virus Worth it? appeared first on Southern Pest Control.