{"id":25505,"date":"2021-06-16T12:50:41","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T16:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=25505"},"modified":"2021-06-16T12:50:46","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T16:50:46","slug":"department-encourages-marylanders-to-reduce-mosquito-breeding-zones-at-home-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2021\/06\/16\/department-encourages-marylanders-to-reduce-mosquito-breeding-zones-at-home-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Department Encourages Marylanders to Reduce Mosquito Breeding Zones at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"25498\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/mda-mosquito-control-at-home\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png?fit=1024%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,512\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MDA Mosquito Control at Home\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png?fit=760%2C380&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-25498\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png?resize=760%2C380\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/MDA-Mosquito-Control-at-Home.png?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>ANNAPOLIS, MD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture\u2019s (MDA\u2019s) Mosquito Control Program urges residents to take simple measures to reduce mosquito populations on their property this summer. Aside from being nuisances, mosquitoes can also carry a number of diseases harmful to humans and animals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cProtect you and your family from mosquito-borne diseases by eliminating potential mosquito breeding grounds on your property,\u201d said Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. \u201cThis time of year is hot, humid, and wet in Maryland, which is ideal for mosquitoes. It is important to survey your home and rid your property of standing water where mosquitoes could potentially lay eggs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland\u2019s most common nuisance mosquito is the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/plants-pests\/Pages\/avoid_asian_tiger_mosquitoes.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asian tiger mosquito<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aedes albopictus<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">). This invasive species is active during the day, especially at dawn and dusk, and can be particularly aggressive. Adult female Asian tiger mosquitoes bite humans and animals as they need blood to produce eggs. While biting hosts, mosquitoes can transmit diseases like West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asian tiger mosquitoes<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are known to fly only a few blocks from their breeding grounds and prefer to live near homes and neighboring woods. Female Asian tiger mosquitoes can lay up to 300 eggs in their lifetime. They breed in standing water rather than marshlands. Common household items found in yards can quickly become breeding grounds for these mosquitoes. After eggs are laid and hatched, mosquito larvae live in water for five to 10 days. That is why all Marylanders must survey their property and drain or remove anything where water can pool or stand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are some tips to mosquito-proof your home this season:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check all window screens in your home or business to be sure they are intact and do not contain holes. Repair any damaged screens.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remove corrugated drain pipe from downspouts and consider replacing it with smooth PVC piping. Each corrugation is a potential mosquito breeding ground. If removal isn\u2019t possible, use screening to cover openings.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Properly store children\u2019s toys, especially plastic toys that have small areas where water can gather.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Store containers, including buckets, pales, water bottles, storage totes, and recycling containers, where they cannot collect rainwater. Keep trash cans and rain barrels covered.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Clean rain gutters to allow water to flow freely.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remove old tires or drill drainage holes in tires used for playground equipment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Store plastic wading pools inside or turn them upside down when not in use.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turn over or remove clay pots and plastic containers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check for trapped water in plastic or canvas tarps used to cover boats, pools, etc. Arrange the tarp to drain the water.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pump out bilges in boats. Turn canoes and small boats upside down for storage.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Replace water in birdbaths at least twice a week.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remove pet food and water dishes that are not being used.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Flush livestock water troughs twice a week.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Flush water in the bottom of plant holders twice a week.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fix dripping outside water faucets.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turn wheelbarrows upside down when stored outside.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check around construction sites or do-it-yourself improvement projects to ensure that proper backfilling and grading prevent drainage problems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additionally, the department has produced a series of<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLdMGQvDTNcyzzoXclz14F85KTHA5Bp-1h\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">video PSAs<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">on eliminating mosquito breeding zones. For more helpful tips and information, please visit MDA\u2019s Mosquito Control Program<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/plants-pests\/Pages\/mosquito_control.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">webpage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> For information on mosquito-borne diseases and West Nile virus, please visit the Maryland Department of Health\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/phpa.health.maryland.gov\/OIDEOR\/CZVBD\/Pages\/west-nile-virus.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/mdagdept\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@MdAgDept<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &amp; <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/mdagmosquito\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@MdAgMosquito<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD \u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture\u2019s (MDA\u2019s) Mosquito Control Program urges residents to take simple measures to reduce mosquito populations on their property this summer. Aside from being nuisances, mosquitoes can also carry a number of diseases harmful to humans and animals.\u00a0 \u201cProtect you and your family from mosquito-borne diseases by eliminating potential<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2021\/06\/16\/department-encourages-marylanders-to-reduce-mosquito-breeding-zones-at-home-2\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25505"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25507,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25505\/revisions\/25507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}