Mosquitoes, ticks ready for summer: How you can protect yourself
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Parts of our viewing area have had high temps and moderate showers for the past couple of days.
Experts said that is perfect weather for mosquitoes to breed.
Mosquitoes aren’t the only insects we have to worry about this summer. Ticks are, also, on the rise.
Mosquitoes bite. and they can carry life-threatening diseases.
The West Nile virus, Zika virus, and the St. Louis encephalitis all are spread by mosquitoes.
WCBI’s nature expert, Dr. John Long, said it only takes a cap-full of water for mosquitoes to make themselves at home in your backyard.
“Mosquitos like to lay their eggs in water, stagnant water, not moving water. As that water rises, they continue to hatch so every time we get rain, we get a large flush of mosquitoes,” said Long.
After the normal June showers, Mississippi usually falls into a drought in late July.
“Ticks love dry weather. You’re gonna see those thrive. Any tick type you can think of any mite, spider mite, anything like that thrives in dry conditions,” said Long.
Ticks are notorious for carrying Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, and other life-threatening illnesses.
Long said there are certain products you can use to keep those pests at bay.
“The higher the DEET level is, the more effective it’s going to be in preventing the mosquitos. We also have another product called Promethean. And that product, you can spray on your clothes. You can’t spray it while you’re wearing it but you can spray it on your clothes. Excellent against mosquitos and ticks,” said Long.
You can also take safety measures at home to prevent those pests from taking a bite out of you next.
“Make sure if you have any water like a dog bowl or anything like that that’s been sitting out. Any type, you can look at gutters, and clean your gutters out. If you’ve got a bucket or tires full of water, dump it out cause that’s just a breeding ground for mosquitos. Ticks, make sure you try to stay away from those areas as best you can, pine straw things of that nature, even overhanging branches would be the perfect opportunity for ticks because those ticks are looking for warm-blooded animals to attach themselves to,” said Long.
Products with the ingredients Long mentioned can be found at stores like Walmart and Dollar General or online.
