Families unaware about mosquitoes

Many people living in cities are unaware or careless about removing standing water on private property that can easily control mosquitoes and prevent diseases they carry, a study shows.

Researchers at the University of Maryland have found that many urban people are unaware that standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and some of those who know are unmotivated to dump the water.

For the study, researchers interviewed 242 urban households in the summer of 2010 to find out how much they knew about mosquitoes, mosquito-borne diseases and the risks posed by standing water. The scientists also investigated the properties to estimate the number of mosquito population and their colonized species.

They found that 54 percent of surveyed properties were positive for mosquitoes, with the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, and the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens, being the dominant species; both of these species are known vectors of West Nile virus.

However, many urban families did not take simple steps such as dumping out standing water to reduce their risks, according to the report presented in the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) 96th Annual Meeting.

Although, higher income families had a better knowledge about mosquito-borne disease and mosquito breeding sites, middle-income households, lower-income households and neighborhoods showed considerably more concern about mosquito biting and mosquito-borne disease.

The findings showed that the knowledge of many urban families was not sufficient to motivate them to control larval mosquitoes and they need more education and awareness, the scientists concluded.

"High general knowledge of mosquitoes and concern about mosquito biting was not sufficient to encourage residents to dump standing water, and even in yards where residents did empty containers, there were still many mosquito breeding sites," said lead author Zara Dowling.

"Existing knowledge, motivation and practices are not enough for controlling larval mosquitoes, and aerial spraying for adult mosquitoes carries environmental and health risks,”‌ Dowling added.