if you been looking around recently spring is here. Maybe not officially, we still got a couple months to go. But in Southern California we only have one month that can have frost and that’s January. The frost is gone and the flowering pear trees (The white ones that smell bad) are in full bloom letting us know there’s nothing but more flowers on the way. Just like how the plants know that it’s time to wake up and get moving, so do all those pests. Insects work like cold blooded animals. The warmer it gets the more active they are.
Starting from now (February) on up expect to see more and more pest activity. Also, expect to see more rain than any other time of the year. February is the only month of the year that we average as much rain as the rest of the country has every month, 4 inches. That makes now a great time to check your property for any possible mosquito breeding sites.
The mosquito is vector of diseases and is responsible for one million deaths a year. This makes it the most dangerous creature to humans more so than all other animals combined. Fortunately here in California we don’t have to deal with Malaria but we do have West Nile Virus. West Nile Virus is very similar to Dengue fever and it is not to be trifled with.
Removing standing water sources prevents the mosquito from completing its life cycle and is the best way to protect your family from nuisance bites and possible heath issues.
This year lets protect our family and neighbors with three easy steps.
- Flip containers, toys, and other objects over to prevent water from entering.
- When that is not possible, cover objects with some sort of waterproof covering.
- If neither is possible, such as pools and fountains. Chlorinate regularly until the body of water evaporates or it can be removed by pump.