Scientific Name: Culicidae
Mosquitoes belong to the family of flies and they are tiny midge-like insects. There are more than 3500 species of mosquitoes. Usually, their bodies are covered in tiny scales. They possess only one pair of wings along with long and thin legs. They are typically 3mm – 9 mm in length. Mosquitoes are widely identified for being a nuisance to human beings as female mosquitoes tend o feed on human blood. A mosquito bite can be painful and sometimes it can be dangerous to human beings as well. The bump caused due to a mosquito bite can also be itchy. Moreover, they tend to transmit serious diseases while feeding on blood such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever and filariasis.
Mosquitoes prefer stagnant water to lay eggs. They can survive in a wide variety of locations and they increase in numbers rapidly. Infestations of mosquitoes are very common in tropical areas. Thus, dengue, a mosquito-borne infection, is a very widely spread disease in Sri Lanka. The mosquito species, Aedes Aegypti is the principal vector of dengue. This species use man-made or natural containers of water to breed in. Additionally, Aedes Aegypti is a daytime feeding mosquito that feed mostly early in the morning and before dusk.
Infestations of mosquitoes can be prevented and controlled by controlling the access to mosquito breeding sites. On that note, management and modification of the environment to avoid collection of stagnant water can prevent spread of mosquitoes. Here are few ways that you can manage your surroundings to control mosquitoes.
Covering, emptying and cleaning of domestic water storage containers on a weekly basis
- Applying appropriate insecticides to outdoor water storage containers.
- Use of personal household protection such as window screens, long-sleeved clothes, insecticide treated materials, coils and vaporizerss.
- Use of professional mosquito control services on a schedules.
- Applying insecticides during outbreaks as one of the emergency vector control measuress.
- Active monitoring and surveillance of vectors to determine effectiveness of control interventions.s