Protect yourselves from Mosquitos

Mosquito pools have tested positive for West Nile Virus in Jefferson County

The Indiana State Department of Health has announced that mosquito pools have tested positive for West Nile Virus in Jefferson County.

Please take the following precautions to protect yourself from mosquitos:

• When possible, avoid places and times when mosquitos bite.

• Use an insect repellant containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide).

• Wear shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time, or from dusk to dawn, when mosquitos are most active. Clothing should be light colored and made of tightly woven materials to keep mosquitos away from the skin.

• Make sure all windows and doors have screens, and that all screens are in good repair.

• Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors or in an unscreened structure.

• Eliminating areas of standing water available for mosquito breeding in or near your property.

• Repairing failed septic systems.

• Drilling holes in the bottom of recycling containers that are left out of doors. Drainage holes that are located on the container sides collect enough water for mosquitos to breed in.

• Keeping grass cut short and shrubbery trimmed.

• Disposing of old tires, tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or other unused containers that can hold water. Do not overlook containers that have become overgrown by aquatic vegetation.

• Cleaning clogged roof gutters, particularly if leaves tend to plug up the drains. Roof gutters are easily overlooked but can produce millions of mosquitos each season.

• Aerating ornamental pools, or stocking them with predatory fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate.

• Turning over plastic wading pools when not in use. A wading pool becomes a mosquito producer if it is not used on a regular basis.

• Turning over wheelbarrows and not allowing water to stagnate in birdbaths. Both provide breeding habitat for domestic mosquitos.

• Cleaning and chlorinating swimming pools that are not being used. A swimming pool that is left untended by a family that goes on vacation for a month can produce enough mosquitos to result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Be aware that mosquitos may even breed in the water that collects on swimming pool covers.

• Using landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property. Mosquitos will develop in any puddle that lasts for more than four days.

West Nile is transmitted by mosquitos that have first bitten an infected bird. A person bitten by an infected mosquito may show symptoms three to fifteen days after being bitten.

It is safe to say that Hoosiers and visitors in all counties should take recommended precautions. There is a tendency for people to think that the mosquito season is over with the onset of the cooler fall weather. However, mosquitos that have tested positive for West Nile are going to be infected as long as they live. 

Cooler temperatures WILL NOT KILL the mosquito, but a good freeze will stop the cycle.