Five Things Every Mom Should Know About Mosquitoes
National Mosquito Control Awareness Week is June 21-27, 2015
HICKORY, N.C., June 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year during National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, we are reminded what to do in order to avoid the most infamous of summer pests: the mosquito. "Drain, dress and defend," the experts say. "Remove standing water around your home. Wear long pants and long sleeves. Use repellent."
"That's great advice," Mosquito Authority Founder Joey Osborne says. "Mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance. It's easy to forget they carry diseases like West Nile Virus and Chikungunya, but the threat is real. Our goal, during Mosquito Week and the rest of mosquito season, is to spread awareness and help people take action to reduce their risk."
According to Mosquito Authority's Mosquito Awareness Guide, there are five things every mom, dad, and grandparent should know about mosquitoes:
1. Mosquitoes LOVE children. They run, they play, they sweat, they get out of breath. The carbon dioxide and perspiration they generate by, well, just being kids makes them mosquito magnets. They also spend their time in sandboxes and playhouses and other "mosquito havens." Mosquitoes love damp, shady areas rich in foliage, and females need less than a bottle cap worth of water to lay eggs.
2. Mosquitoes don't just make you itch. Even in the United States where mosquito-related deaths are relatively few, mosquitoes can carry deadly diseases like West Nile and Encephalitis. In total, mosquitoes transmit 28 diseases and kill more people each year worldwide than any other single factor, including heart disease, cancer, AIDS & car accidents.
3. Kids are more susceptible. Most mosquito-related deaths are children. Little bodies just aren't equipped to fight the diseases mosquitoes carry. In severe cases, it is less than 48 hours from the appearance of the first symptom before serious complications or even death.
Mosquito-borne diseases present with common symptoms like fever, nausea and vomiting, making them difficult to detect. You should contact your doctor immediately if your child has been bitten by a mosquito and shows any of the following symptoms:
- sudden high fever,
- severe headache,
- stiff neck,
- confusion,
- muscle jerks, tremors, seizure,
- rash or hives, and/or
- nausea or vomiting.
4. It only takes ONE bite. While your risk of contracting a mosquito-borne disease increases with the number of bites, it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to get sick. That's why prevention and protection are so important.
5. There IS something you can do. A few very easy steps can drastically reduce the risk of getting bitten at home. Just remember to drain, dress and defend.
Drain - Remove standing water from around your home. It only takes a bottle cap's worth of standing water to cause a mosquito problem. Common culprits should be monitored regularly for standing water:
- clogged rain gutters,
- corrugated drain pipes,
- bird baths,
- pet bowls,
- trash & recycling bins,
- plant pots, and
- children's toys.
Dress - When practical, wear long pants and long sleeves. Loose-fitting, light-colored clothing is best. Studies have shown that some mosquitoes are more attracted to dark clothing and can most readily bite through tight-fitting, loose-weave clothing.
Defend – Use repellent. The EPA has registered repellents that have been reviewed and approved to pose minimal risk when used properly:
- DEET (N, N-diethyl-m- toluadmide)
- Picaridin (KBR 3023)
- Oil of lemon eucalyptus (p-methan 3.8-diol, or PMD)
Professional Mosquito Control - While nothing can eliminate the threat entirely, when performed properly by trained professionals, back yard mosquito treatments can help to reduce the danger and risk posed by disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Mosquito Authority's complete Mosquito Awareness Guide is available for free download at BugsBITE.com/moms.
Representatives from Mosquito Authority are available for questions, concerns and educational speaking engagements regarding National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, mosquito control education, and mosquito-borne disease. Please contact Laci LeBlanc at 828-394-2379 or [email protected] for more information.
About Mosquito Authority
At Mosquito Authority®, we don't just kill mosquitoes. We make backyards worth mowing and front porches worth swinging. We keep our finger on the pulse when it comes to all things mosquito control, from mosquito-borne disease and environmental responsibility to customer service and best practices. We have developed THE standard for proper control with our proprietary REPEL+PLUS™ protocol, which allows us to break the mosquito lifecycle and offer every Mosquito Authority customer our exclusive "No Mosquito Guarantee." To learn more, please visit our Web site at BugsBITE.com or call us at 800-709-1190.
NATIONAL MEDIA CONTACT:
Laci LeBlanc
Marketing Director
[email protected]
828-394-2379
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150618/224109
SOURCE The Mosquito Authority
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