A New Dawn for Fighting Mosquito-Borne Diseases

The fact that mosquitoes carry a huge number of diseases is not new. But, what is surprising and potentially worrying is the fact that many diseases which had almost died out re returning, with a vengeance.

Cases of Zika, West Nile fever, dengue, and even malaria are on the increase. Combine this with a reduction in effectiveness of many antibiotics and you’ll quickly realize that you need to become best friend with your local exterminators.

The Two Sides Of The New Dawn

On the one side, the service offered by pest control firms has never been so important. You need to use their expert advice and skills in order to keep the mosquitoes away from your home:

Getting Rid Of Standing Water

Standing water is the perfect spot for mosquitoes to breed in. One of the most important things you and your pest control company can do is locate any standing water in the area of your home and eliminate it.

Netting

Keeping them out of your house can be done by using mosquito approved netting on the doors and windows. These are surprisingly effective and will keep your house safe.

Vegetation Management

As well as getting rid of water it is important to look at the vegetation around your home and even any piles of wood you have. These are the perfect spot for mosquitoes to rest on during the day; they are most active at dusk.

By identifying likely resting spots you can eliminate them.

Chemicals

Of course, pest control companies will use chemicals and insecticides to prevent eggs from hatching, treating any standing water and eliminating them on the vegetation.

On the other hand, there are some remarkable advancements happening in medical science to help prevent mosquitoes from being an issue and spreading disease:

Vector-Control Techniques

The use of new insecticides, many of which have been spread via the use of bed nets across the sub-Saharan area of Africa, is estimated to have saved 663 million diseases from having been contracted between 2000 and 2015!

Unfortunately, due to a reduction in the use of these bed nets disease numbers are starting to climb again. Now the technology is being reapplied to help reduce the mosquito population again.

New Insecticides

The success of DDT in controlling insects led to a lack of drive to create new products. However, many of the original DDT insecticides are now banned or losing their effect?

Fortunately, new insecticides are being developed to help in the fight.

New Repellents

Mosquitoes are able to locate humans from the carbon dioxide we all breathe out. It’s only when the mosquitoes get close that they are able to locate exposed skin; this is also through skin odors.

Blocking the natural odor of the skin prevents the mosquito from being able to detect your presence. New research has made these mosquito repellents even more effective.

Gene Sequencing

Gene sequencing and cloud computing are proving to be very effective at helping to spot potential outbreaks and prevent them from happening.

By using a mixture of these techniques you’ll be able to eliminate mosquitoes from your home and help the world at the same time.