Outsmarting Mosquitoes

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BROAD-STROKE CONTROL

You can lessen mosquito bites by reducing the number of mosquitoes in an area. First, eliminate their breeding places, which are any objects that can hold as little as 1 tablespoon of water for seven to 10 days — the time it takes for eggs to hatch and larvae to mature. Commonly overlooked breeding spots include old tires, clogged gutters, abandoned tubs and buckets, and cemetery urns. Of course, you can do an excellent job of removing habitat and still have mosquitoes, compliments of natural breeding areas such as tree cavities and creek edges, or your neighbor's clogged gutters.

To learn the prevalence of West Nile virus where you live, check the CDC Web site: www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/wncount.htm . Information on West Nile virus in Canada is available from the Health Canada Web site: www.hc-sc.gc.ca .

Verified Avian, Animal and mosquito infection during 2002; no humans.

Where standing water cannot be avoided, for example in large water troughs or ponds, you can useBacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bt) , a naturally occurring bacterium that infects mosquito larvae and kills them, yet is harmless to people and fish. Many garden centers sell commercially made, doughnut-shaped mosquito dunks or granulated products containing this fast-acting biological larvacide.

Many Mother Earth News readers report that keeping chickens, ducks or guineas reduces mosquitoes because the birds are natural mosquito predators (see "Poultry Pest Patrol Stories" under "Community" at http://www.motherearthnews.com ).

According to the book CommonSense Pest Control, if you have a small body of water with no natural outlet, you should stock it with goldfish; mosquito fish ( Gambusia affinis ), which often are available from mosquito-control agencies; or native fish, many of which are good mosquito predators, too.

Ponds populated with the right kinds of fish will work like natural mosquito traps: Thanks to the hungry fish, neither egg-laying female mosquitoes nor larvae will survive.

Another aspect of control is to protect natural mosquito predators such as dragonflies, ants, ground beetles, spiders, water striders, frogs and snails. Avoid spraying broad-spectrum insecticides that kill off many of these beneficial creatures.

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