What is Mosquito Control Awareness Week?

National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

The last week of June every year is Mosquito Control Awareness Week (MCAW).  Some folks we talk to are surprised that there exists a week devoted to the mosquito, but if we can devote a week to sharks – who are responsible for a very, very small number of deaths, then we should certainly devote a week to the deadliest animal on the planet.

The concept of MCAW is just as its name describes, to bring awareness not only to the mosquito and the diseases they carry but to what we can do to reduce the population where we live.

Mosquitoes carry EEE, West Nile, Malaria, Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya Virus. Transmission occurs once the mosquito bites, sharing saliva and potential blood particles, transferred from the last bite they took. There is no evidence that Covid can be transferred through a mosquito.

Mosquito Joe works with Nothing But Nets every year, donating a portion of its’ revenue to the organization, who supplies pesticide-treated mosquito nets to families in sub-Sahara Africa where Malaria is rampant. Closer to home, we work hard to educate whenever we can to help spread the word about some simple things you can do to keep the population down. We have a lot of information in our blogs about mosquitoes, what you can do yourself, how to best deal with bites, how to look for trouble spots, and more.

national mosquito week

The biggest takeaway for mosquitoes should be water, water, water. Water is where they lay their eggs, where the eggs hatch into larvae, and where the larvae grow into adults. The less water you have, the fewer mosquitoes.  Remember, one teaspoon of water will give you 300 eggs. And with a life cycle of 3-5 days, those 300 can multiply into the millions in less than a month. So, tip and toss and dump that water every time it rains. Keep your gutters running clear and your fallen leaves and pine needles picked up.  Flush out your French drains and keep tarps and kids’ toys stored inside and away from the rain. Rinse out your birdbaths and scrub the sides when you do – eggs cling to the bowl and if you don’t scrub you’ve simply refreshed their water. And a HUGE issue we see all the time, especially after this last winter weather, your septic tank lids. If they are cracked or warped replace them and where possible, screw them down.  You would not believe the mosquitoes that can reproduce in those tanks.

Finally, and we apologize in advance for this, we will leave you with this most epic of videos.

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