Protecting yourself from mosquitoes this summer season
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – It’s that time of the year again, warmer temperatures means visits to the pool, fishing trips, camping, and of course, endless swarms of mosquitoes.
The little menaces, while an important source of food for local wildlife, have been known to ruin a fun time and even carry more serious disease. Diseases like malaria, west nile virus, and zika are carried by mosquitoes, however the chances of actually getting sick from a mosquito bite is low in the United States.
“Most of the the viral infections transmitted by mosquitoes are actually the symptoms are mild. Only one out of five people bitten by mosquitoes will develop symptoms if you acquired an infection. So not everybody, even if you acquired the infection, you will not necessarily develop symptoms. You will not necessarily be that sick,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. Patricia Tellez Watson with Med Center Health.
Regardless of the chance of infection it is important to stay up to date when it comes to mosquito proofing your home. Watson says water, specifically standing water, can be a breeding ground for the bugs, and draining it can play a big impact on the number of mosquitos around your home this Summer.
“You really have to be careful of not keeping standing water outside your house, because those would be places where, the female mosquito will lay her eggs and usually like the eggs are lay there for like a week and a half after you develop the eggs for to an adult mosquito that can fly away. So that way, at least like once a week, make sure that you are checking that you don’t have water deposits around the house. That way you can make sure that you are not breeding mosquitoes near to your house because they will stay only 1 to 2 miles around, so that’s why they will go after you,” Watson said.
Watson also says that people who work outside like construction crews, lineman, and landscapers need to stay extra vigilant and wear long clothing, and carry a trustworthy bug spray.
