2023-08-06 06:15:10
Wikimedia The tiger mosquito is back this summer, favored by warm temperatures and humidity caused by storms.
Wikimedia Commons
The tiger mosquito is back this summer, favored by the hot temperatures and humidity caused by storms.
MOSQUITO – This rainy summer still makes people happy: mosquitoes. Those who need humidity and heat to reproduce take advantage of the mild temperatures and frequent episodes of rain that affect most of the French territory this year. Water is indeed necessary for the reproduction of mosquitoes, which lay their larvae in stagnant water.
And they proliferate fast. After fertilization, it only takes two weeks before the larvae are ready to sting, and a female can produce 150 eggs per generation. Result ? In just two months, each female can lay up to 1,000 eggs. All the lemongrass in the world will not be enough: you have to take the problem to the root.
Especially since a particularly virulent species is making headlines: the tiger mosquito, which arrived in France in 2004 and is already present in 71 departments. Le HuffPost asked Gilles Besnard, entomologist at theInterdepartmental Agreement for Mosquito Control (EID), which explains that tiger mosquitoes are indeed “ the only species to live only in the city, to which they have adapted very well. The larvae are aquatic and mosquitoes are therefore in search of stagnant water, which is found involuntarily everywhere in the city ».
If in mainland France, the tiger mosquito is often “only” unpleasant, causing numerous bites and itching, it remains a vector of viruses such as dengue, chikungunya or Zika. Better to protect yourself against it.
The war begins on the balcony
The best way to get rid of it is to start by not having it. You must therefore try to anticipate all the places where stagnant water could accumulate: crevice in the ground, vase, cup under the flowerpot, watering can left abandoned at the bottom of the garden or even a badly wrung mop… Without forget the balconies and what can lie there, going from the ashtray to the foot of the waterlogged parasol.
It is important to regularly inspect all these places and empty them so that mosquitoes cannot settle there. Another solution would be to fill them with sand in order to keep the humidity while avoiding stagnant water.
Among these places to monitor, you must also keep an eye on your gutters. The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) advise clean them regularly to facilitate the evacuation of water.
As for water tanks, rainwater collectors for example, it is imperative to cover them in one way or another. Some have covers, and it is possible to install a tightly woven fabric and ensure that it is well ” mosquito proof says Gilles Besnard. ” An unprotected reservoir can generate up to a thousand mosquitoes per week! »
If despite all these precautions, mosquito larvae still come to take possession of the premises, they must be got rid of as soon as possible. ” Larvae only survive in water, wet ground is not enough recalls Gilles Besnard. It is therefore enough to throw in nature the water in which they evolve. If it is several liters of water in a tank, he advises to pour a little bleach or chlorine in it: the larvae will die, and the chemical product will evaporate.
Gilles Besnard concludes that tiger mosquitoes concern the entire population, but underlines a cruel lack of information on this subject despite more and more specialized sites : « Mosquito control must be a collective responsibility ».
See also on Le HuffPost :
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