How To Take The Bite Out Of Mosquito Season

As overnight temperatures rise, Culex mosquitoes begin to hatch. They can carry the West Nile virus, which infected more than 420 people in California last year, killing 19 of them.

Another kind of mosquito is being tested for dengue virus after two people in Los Angeles County contracted the virus last fall, the first locally acquired cases in California. Both people survived.

There’s no local dengue now, but experts say the virus is likely to crop up again and the pesticides used to kill mosquitoes that can spread it have lost some of their bite.

That’s because overuse of over-the counter herbicides can cause the insects to become resistant to the chemicals, said Tristan Hallam, director of scientific programs with the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

Some weed killers contain active ingredients similar to pest control sprays, he said.

“Because it’s being used in two separate scenarios on a consistent basis, there are more opportunities for these adult mosquitoes to have that resistance build up within these populations,” Hallam said.

How To Take The Bite Out Of Mosquito Season

Hallum tests local mosquitoes and rotates which pesticides vector control uses when too many show resistance.

The best defense is to prevent mosquito bites, and keep the insects from getting in your home or breeding nearby.

Continue reading the article written by Jackie Fortiér here.

照片缩略图 博客作者
高级健康记者
杰基-福蒂埃

我负责报道南加州的健康和洛杉矶地区的医疗保健行业。

我是在大流行病导致大部分工作停顿之前进入这个新闻编辑室的,这一年我的工作非常紧张,因为我一直在努力使所发生的事情尽可能通俗易懂。例如,这是我们为报道疫苗推广工作制定的任务:

我们将帮助安吉丽娜人获得有关疫苗的最新准确信息,克服接种疫苗时遇到的障碍,并分享我们在这场大流行中的经验。

我曾在俄克拉荷马州和科罗拉多州的公共电台工作过,但我已经爱上了加利福尼亚州的山峦和海滩。如果您仔细聆听我在 89.3 KPCC 电台的现场直播,您可能会听到我的三只猫出现--尽管我尽力让它们保持安静。

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