Jun 12, 2009 8:32 pm US/Eastern
Rain, Warmth To Bring Mosquitoes Out In Droves
ARMONK, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
All the recent rain has experts anticipating a bumper crop of mosquitoes.
If April showers bring May flowers, June rain brings the pain of mosquito bites.
"I think I already have like three on my leg," Yonkers resident Angela Slattery says.
That's why, in Westchester and other counties, mosquito abatement teams are keeping busy putting bricks of larvicide into storm water catch basins, where mosquitoes like to breed.
"It's a growth regulator which interferes with the mosquito life cycle, prevents it from becoming a mature mosquito and reproducing," Mike Condon, of the Westchester Health Department, says.
It's a program that began in 1999, the summer of the big mosquito scare.
2009 marks ten years since the West Nile Virus first appeared in the area. The question now is whether more mosquitoes this year will mean a greater threat of West Nile.
Experts at Fordham University's Calder Center in Armonk say that it's too early to tell.
"In terms of a public health issue right now, there's not anything we have to be particularly concerned about," Dr. Thomas Daniels says. "We'll have to watch the weather patterns, as well as the mosquito populations, over time."
The rain brings mosquitoes, and the summer season brings a flood of products that claim to keep the pests at bay.
Dr. Daniels says repellent with DEET is his choice as most effective.
For those who want to avoid chemicals, Dr. Daniels says botanicals with eucalyptus work pretty well. He also advises against spending time outside during peak mosquito hours.
"Try not to go out at dawn or dusk, when mosquitoes are most active," Dr. Daniels suggests.
If you do, there will be lots of hungry females looking for a meal, courtesy of you.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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