Recent rains create heaven for mosquitoes

The recent rains wreaked havoc for large sections of Maui, and many homes and business were flooded. Now that the rain has eased and the sun has returned, we are all grateful that our homes and yards are drying out. But did you know that this is a peak time for mosquitoes to breed around your home?

Mosquitoes lay their eggs near areas of water, because once their eggs hatch, the mosquito larvae need water to survive in.

So please, don’t let your yard become a mosquito hotel. Take a moment today to check your property for areas that might host these young mosquitoes. They really don’t need much to survive. In fact, scientists have found that mosquito larvae can survive in as little as one teaspoon of water.

That old bucket you have? That spare tire near the shed? Your plant saucers? Check them all. Dump out any water that’s accumulated there and put your buckets and items back in a way so they’re not collecting water the next time it rains. For example, store buckets or watering cans in your yard upside down.

You can make this a weekly habit when doing yardwork. Checking for, and dumping, standing water once a week is perfect timing, since mosquito larvae usually take around eight days to hatch. So, dumping stagnant water once a week stops the breeding cycle. If you have rain gutters, it’s also a good idea to check them periodically to make sure they are flowing and water isn’t stagnant.

Now, some plants can hold standing water (such as bromeliads). If these plants are actually planted in the ground, you can’t easily dump out the water. So, what can you do? Don’t worry. You don’t need to pull them out of your garden. Rather, you can make up a solution of water with a small amount of mild dish soap in a spray bottle and spray this solution where water is standing in plants. The dish soap won’t hurt your plants but will create a barrier on the surface of the water so the mosquito larvae can’t breathe.

I think we can all agree that mosquito bites are annoying. More than being annoying, they can sometimes carry disease. In 2001, Maui experienced a dengue fever outbreak. It wasn’t easy, but with a lot of hard work, dengue fever was successfully eradicated from Maui a year later. But as we do in fact have the type of mosquitoes that can carry dengue fever, along with a few other diseases, we do need to be aware of eliminating sources of mosquito breeding.

How do we keep Maui dengue-free? The first way is to reduce that stagnant water in your yard as discussed above. The second way is to be alert to signs and symptoms of dengue fever and talk with your doctor if you’re having any, especially if you’ve recently traveled out of the U.S. Dengue fever currently exists in parts of Africa, Asia, Central America and South America. Dengue fever symptoms can include fever, joint pain, vomiting, rash and pain behind the eyes. There is currently no vaccine or treatment for dengue fever.

Let’s all do our part to reduce Maui’s mosquito breeding around our homes so we can continue to keep our island free of dengue fever and other mosquito diseases. If you have any questions about mosquitoes or the diseases they carry, you can call the Department of Health Vector Control Branch at (808) 873-3560.