PHOENIX — They’re dubbed “The World’s Deadliest Animal” by the Centers for Disease Control and they just might be in your neighborhood.
They are, of course, Mosquitoes.
With the above-average monsoon activity, there are a few things you can do to keep from being their next meal.
“Currently, we've been seeing a lot of mosquitoes, we've been getting hundreds of complaints of areas that are experiencing mosquito problems.” Said Johnny Diloné of the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department.
In Maricopa Country, Spokesperson Johnny Deloné says they’ve seen an uptick in mosquitoes this year, as well as an uptick in West Nile virus. While not all species of mosquito carry the disease, It’s important to keep your eye out for symptoms if you’ve been bit such as a fever, headache, body aches or nausea. That’s when you want to talk to your doctor.
Maricopa County has listed things that can be done to avoid mosquito activity around the home:
- Use insect repellant. Look for a repellant that contains DEET or picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
- Wear long sleeves and pants. Really.
- Avoid outdoor activity during dusk and dawn. That’s when the little bloodsuckers are most active, looking for their next blood meal to nourish a female’s eggs before they are deposited near a standing water source.
- Drain standing water around your home.
“Go around our house and make sure that we're not breeding mosquitoes,” Advised Diloné. “That we eliminate any standing water, anything that can become a breeding site, which could be something as little as the cap of the water bottle. That would be enough water for mosquitoes to breed.”
There have been 22 cases of West Nile Virus in Maricopa Country this year, up from 3 cases in 2020. The good news is St. Louis Encephalitis has not been prevalent this year. Last year there were 6 cases in the county.
Visit Fight the Bite for detailed and up-to-date information on mosquito activity in and around Maricopa County.