The Backyard Battlefield in the War Against Zika Virus
With the threat of Zika and the fact that there will be no vaccinations available for at least another year or two, there is more of a need than ever for the South Walton County Mosquito Control District (SWCMCD) to proactively reach out to individual homeowners throughout the District. Education and prevention are priorities.
There are more than thirty species of mosquitoes within our District. Only one of these, Aedes albopictus, nicknamed the “Asian Tiger Mosquito”, has been proven to transmit the Zika virus to humans. This mosquito can also transmit Dengue fever and Chikungunya. These mosquitoes can be found in most any yard. The female Tiger Mosquito lays her eggs in man-made containers such as buckets, flower pots, cans, bottles, tarps, toys, etc. After a rain or irrigation, the eggs are wet and hatch. They will become adult mosquitoes in about one week and will then fly and bite to obtain a blood meal. They do not fly far from where they hatch, approximately 150 to 200 yards.
Zika virus will likely be introduced to our area by way of people that have traveled to an area that is known to have the virus. A large part of SWCMCD’s reaction plan to a human case is to quickly treat and assess all properties within 200 yards of the residence of the infected individual. SWCMCD will strive to locate and eliminate all places the mosquito can lay her eggs, monitor for adult mosquitoes with traps and control the mosquito populations with adulticiding when needed.
The key for SWCMCD being able to facilitate this process swiftly is to proactively open up channels of communication with property owners. To accomplish this SWCMCD requests that you contact them with your Home Owner’s Association (HOA) Board president and/or Community Association Managers (CAM) contact information to set up a date to visit your neighborhood and conduct door to door inspections of potential mosquito habitats. Their goal is education and elimination of potential and existing problem areas. One resident with multiple containers can unknowingly be causing mosquito problems for the whole neighborhood. After the initial door to door inspection and feedback, SWCMCD staff would then schedule a presentation with the residents at a central location to present to them with further information about what mosquito control can do for their neighborhood in the future.
The benefits of participation in this proactive approach will be decreased mosquito populations and better knowledge of the individual homeowner’s role in the fight against mosquito born illnesses. SWCMCD staff will have a better understanding of mosquito habitats throughout your area and will potentially build a better plan to defend against mosquitoes in the future. Homeowners awareness of problem containers will hopefully facilitate a habit of dumping those containers after every rain. Prevention is a priority. If Zika is introduced into the area, your neighborhood would be ahead of the game as far as communication between SWCMCD and your neighborhood’s residents.
Please contact SWCMCD today to initiate this process. All concerned citizens are welcome to participate whether you are part of a neighborhood or not. Call 850-267-2112 or email director@swcmcd.org or visit their website at southwaltonmosquitocontrol.org and fill out a service request.
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