by Richard Fadal, President of Texascapes, Inc.
Spring is such a beautiful season but it can be uncomfortable as it is also the itchy season. The little insects that you can barely see are biting.
When it comes to mosquitos, it goes beyond just itchy – the mosquito is the most dangerous animal in the world to humans (http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/dangerous-animals1.htm) so it’s very important to limit their numbers as much as possible.
It’s likely that a mosquito biting you in your yard was hatched in your yard or no further away than a few of your closest neighbors. Check for standing water close to home, and empty, drain, remove, cover or turn upside down anything that can hold water. There could be a mosquito breeding “factory” in clogged gutters, leaf-filled drains, drain outlets from air-conditioners, dog dishes, soft drink cans, plastic bags, old tires, “junk” behind the garage, birdbaths, potted plant saucers, standing water in tire ruts, stumps, tree holes, puddles hidden under English ivy and pools left by flooded streams.
North Austin MUD takes steps to reduce the numbers of the little beasts by putting mosquito dunks in standing water in our local drainage channels and water pockets every month during the warm seasons. Mosquito dunks kill the mosquito larvae, they are a solidified form of B.T., a natural insecticide produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that has been used for decades by organic farmers to control crop-eating insects and by the World Health Organization to kill mosquitoes without using dangerous chemical pesticides. The dunks are effective at least 6 months by activating each time they get wet.
We should be able to enjoy our spring and summer much more without fewer of thos Texas “skeeters” if we all do our part.
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