Gardeners, Be On Your Toes—West Nile Virus
Forum Archives
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Mar-09-2005 at 9:12am
tv news is all over the concern that 2005 will be a bad west nile virus year for oregon. watch those pools of standing water. even a tsp of water is enough for mosquitoes to breed. a dry year doesn't phase them much apparently.
empty and replenish bird baths, etc regularly or add a mosquito dunk to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. a mosquito dunk is a biological control that will only affect mosquitoes. you can buy them at garden centers.
scout out and remove/alter anything that could hold water, such as tire swings [drill a few holes in bottom to drain]. fix poorly draining gutters, etc.
additional precautions include avoiding being outside at dusk, when skeeters are most active, and using repellant.
do not rely on bug zappers. they do not kill skeeters. study showed that out of 11,000 insects killed, only 3 were mosquitoes. the rest were harmless insects, including green lacewings, which eat aphids and fly at night. oh, yeah, each zap spews bacteria 6' away - ewwwww. [i detest bug zappers].
80 percent of those infected with wnv won't get sick or show symptoms. the rest will feel like they got the flu. for some - elderly, children, immune-compromised most at risk - wnv can cause death.
washington hasn't yet had any incidents of wnv, but it will likely come so getting into good habits is a good idea.
and now if you'll excuse me, this post took me 20 minutes to type by hunt and peck. i'm wiped. lol
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Mar-09-2005 at 10:07am
for more info, see center for disease control's fight the bite.
follow the link for mosquito-proof your home on the boveage for even more tips.
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Mar-09-2005 at 1:34pm
Good info, Lisa. Thanks!
Jeanne
elad
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Mar-09-2005 at 6:55pm
YIKES!
I think I will stay in Washington this summer. Maybe our tourism guys can advertise that we are (so far) WNV free! Won't help Oregon, much, but I heard they were tired of visitors, anyway.
Elad
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Mar-10-2005 at 8:11am
Elad, Oregon had its first case of WNV last summer so I am betting that Washington will have its first case this summer. Only a matter of time.
Jeanne
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Mar-10-2005 at 7:44pm
Thanks for the warning, Lisa! Darn--maybe I will put up a bat house (a single bat can eat 600 - 1200 mosquitos and other bugs in a single night).
A bug zapper can really spew bug bacteria up to 6 feet away? COOL! I wonder what I could culture if I held a MacConkey or Blood plate next to a zapper? Barb
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Mar-15-2005 at 10:10am
lol, barb, i missed your comment. figured the bacteria thing would excite you.
while on a hunt for other info, i came across 2 useful bits of info on this topic.
bats - nature's bug zappers
and
bug zappers - better left off
Fern
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: Mar-21-2005 at 10:14pm
I went to a mosquito class last spring, it was only 2 hours long and it really was pretty interesting, believe it or not! He said it was a mystery why the West Nile Virus hasn't been in Washington yet and I hope it remains a mystery. That is one mystery I hope coninues.
Fern
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton