At the M.A.C.A. (Mentone Area Community Association) meeting last Tuesday, a representative of the County Public Health Department introduced the Aedes mosquito (see brochure below). It is very small, she said, and can breed in very little water. It lays its eggs on the sides of containers and the eggs can lie dormant for up to a year. Very hot and cold weather affect it but it does well in temperate weather. It has a 7-day life stage. Only the females bite and they are attracted to heat, light and body odor – even if we can’t detect it! She continued that it bites mostly between the knee and ankles and itches really bad; it feeds in stages, rather than all at once. It also feeds in the daytime and can even come down the fireplace. The Zika virus it carries can be transmitted to unborn babies, through transfusions and when people go out of the U.S. Symptoms are flu-like: fever, rash, pain; tests to detect it include blood and urine. There is no vaccine or medication; victims have to ride it out. It can also carry yellow fever and West Nile fever.
To avoid having them breed in your yard, she said, get rid of all standing water: tires and saucers are their favorite, she said. Changes pets’ water every three days. For some vessels, you can get granules to put in water; for ponds you can get free mosquito fish from the Department’s headquarters. Bracelets made with DEET to repel the mosquitoes are also available.
INTERESTED IN MENTONE HISTORY? On January 27, 2020, at 7 p.m. at the Contemporary Clubhouse, 173 S. Eureka, Redlands, Marie Reynolds, whose grandfather-in-law published the Mentone newspaper from the 1930s to 1943, will give a talk on Mentone history.
SB-County-Mosquito-Info