Fight the Bite: Citizen Powered Mosquito Control

This is Mosquito Season. Those pesky bugs buzz out in force after every rain - especially in super-hot weather. The City of St. Louis Health Department wants you to know how we ALL can control mosquitos:
Fight the Bite with the Four D's

DRESS - Wear long sleeves and long pants or skirts  (loose and light-colored to keep you cooler) DAWN and DUSK - Stay indoors at these times when mosquitos are most active. DRAIN - Dump plant saucers, buckets and lids, pool covers, and anything else that can hold standing water - refresh pet water bowls and bird baths daily - mosquitos need stagnant water to breed. DEFEND - Use an EPA-approved mosquito repellant, containing DEET, Picardin or Lemon Oil of Eucalyptus.

Earthworms guests are the Mosquito Team from the City of St. Louis Health Dept. Jeanine Arrighi, Health Services Manager, and professional interns Sydney Gosik and Bindi Patel are making the rounds of community events and public gatherings to educate all ages about mosquito breeding habits, and they ways we all can take control of the bug-breeding that can lead to serious diseases like Zika and West Nile Virus.

Our local government health officials are working with state and federal agencies to update information about mosquito-transmitted diseases, as well as tracking mosquito species of concern. Yes, they can run fogging trucks too, but this expensive control option - which only kills adult mosquitos the spray contacts, along with butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects - is now seen as a backup to "Four-D" type controls of biting and breeding situations.

Music: Dark Matter - performed live at KDHX by Mad Titans, March 2010

Earthworms engineer is Lauren Koske, KDHX digital media intern.