image provided by Bugwood.org
Ah, summer! Vacations have started, pools are already crowded and the mosquitoes are biting. The intense heat that has plagued the east coast seems to have made this year’s mosquitoes more plentiful and vicious. For anyone who wants to know how to reduce the number of mosquitoes in his or her yard (although it’s virtually impossible), the Web has hundreds of suggestions on mosquitoes control. If you’re in the South, go to the list at the bottom of the page to find a fact sheet on mosquitoes for your state.
For the most part, the following advice can help reduce mosquito populations and your probability of being bitten:
- Eradicate standing water or treat low-lying areas that can’t be corrected
- Wear repellant outside
- Repair cracks and openings on the house to keep mosquitoes from coming in
- Keep brush clipped short
In the United States, mosquitoes are a nuisance, but in many parts of the world, they deliver a death sentence to their victims. Because mosquitoes pose a severe threat to human health, scientists throughout the world are trying to find ways of reducing mosquito populations, especially those that transmit diseases.
One such study was conducted by scientists in Texas. The study, completed in 2002, focused on finding a way to keep the mosquito species Culex quinquefaciatus, the Southern house mosquito, from developing resistance to the two insecticides labeled for its control. Researchers found that alternating the insecticides after a certain percentage of the mosquitoes became resistant to one of them helped maintain a major population of susceptible mosquitoes.
Yale University scientists are studying olfactory receptors in the malaria-transmitting species Anopheles gamblae to find out how it uses scent to sniff out its next meal. Scientists hope that the results will help them develop more effective repellants and traps.
Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and in South Africa are experimenting with the fungus Beauveria bassiana to control populations of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, especially those that transmit malaria. This entomopathogen enters insects upon contact and spreads through the body, killing them within days. Researchers found that B. bassiana kills mosquitoes that are resistant to DDT or permethrin. Although DDT is banned from use in the United States, permethrin is one of the primary insecticides used to control several species of mosquitoes.
Several scientists are exploring the Sterile Insect Technique, releasing sexually sterile male insects to reduce pest populations. Scientists in Jerusalem, California, North Carolina and Pennsylvania have been analyzing how genetically modified mosquitoes might reduce mosquito populations and debating the ecological and ethical ramifications of using this tactic.
Finally, scientists at the University of Florida have been studying how copepods control mosquito larvae. A budding scientist in the family may be interested this factsheet, which contains instructions on how to collect and maintain a copepod population to control mosquitoes at home, right in your own kiddie pool.
If the major native mosquito species in the U.S. weren’t enough of a nuisance, the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is an exotic species that is even more aggressive. They breed in used tires (in fact, that’s how they got to this country), and they hover close to the ground, biting feet and ankles before you even know they’re there. In its natural habitat Ae. albopictus is a vector of a number of viruses including dengue fever and eastern equine encephalitis. However, there is no evidence that this mosquito is a public health threat in the United States.
Resources in southern states on mosquitoes:
Alabama: Mosquitoes In and Around the Home
Florida: Mosquito IPM
Georgia: Organizing, Operating and Maintaining an Integrated Community-Wide or County-Wide Mosquito Control Program
Kentucky: Mosquitoes: Practical Advice for Homeowners
Louisiana: Taking the Bite Out of Mosquitoes
Mississippi: Mosquitoes in Mississippi
North Carolina: Mosquitoes
Oklahoma: Mosquitoes & WNV
South Carolina: Asian Tiger Mosquito
Tennessee: Mosquito Control Around Homes
Texas: Mosquito Safari
Virginia: Mosquitoes
