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Concept
Mosquito control
Summary
Mosquito control manages the population of mosquitoes to reduce their damage to human health, economies, and enjoyment. Mosquito control is a vital public-health practice throughout the world and especially in the tropics because mosquitoes spread many diseases, such as malaria and the Zika virus.
Mosquito-control operations are targeted against three different problems:
Nuisance mosquitoes bother people around homes or in parks and recreational areas;
Economically important mosquitoes reduce real estate values, adversely affect tourism and related business interests, or negatively impact livestock or poultry production;
Public health is the focus when mosquitoes are vectors, or transmitters, of infectious disease.
Disease organisms transmitted by mosquitoes include West Nile virus, Saint Louis encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus, Everglades virus, Highlands J virus, La Crosse Encephalitis virus in the United States; dengue fever, yellow fever, Ilheus virus, malaria, Zika virus and filariasis in the American tropics; Rift Valley fever, Wuchereria bancrofti, Japanese encephalitis, chikungunya and filariasis in Africa and Asia; and Murray Valley encephalitis in Australia.
Depending on the situation, source reduction, biocontrol, larviciding (killing of larvae), or adulticiding (killing of adults) may be used to manage mosquito populations. These techniques are accomplished using habitat modification, pesticide, biological-control agents, and trapping. The advantage of non-toxic methods of control is they can be used in Conservation Areas.
Adult mosquito populations may be monitored by landing rate counts, mechanical traps or by, lidar technology For landing rate counts, an inspector visits a set number of sites every day, counting the number of adult female mosquitoes that land on a part of the body, such as an arm or both legs, within a given time interval. Mechanical traps use a fan to blow adult mosquitoes into a collection bag that is taken back to the laboratory for analysis of catch.
Official source
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