Education crucial in mosquito eradication

Mosquitoes can be more than just a nuisance; they can also transmit diseases to humans and animals.

When Virginia Beach, Va., found itself faced with the spread of a particularly aggressive breed of mosquito, it determined that educating the public on preventive measures was every bit as important as spraying or any other action related to foliage and breeding grounds.

In 1991, Aedes albopictus, commonly known as the Asian Tiger mosquito, was accidentally imported into the greater Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia.

Control of the Asian Tiger is complicated by its periods of activity and selection of breeding sites. It is a diurnal species (most active during daylight hours), a trait that protects it from the evening spray applications conducted for native species.

The Asian Tiger only lays its eggs in artificial containers that catch and hold rainwater – items that are as likely to be found on private property as in parks or other public places.

Old tires, bird baths, untended toys, potted plant trays, tarps and clogged rain gutters are likely spots. These breeding sites usually are discovered through individual inspection of the yards of citizens calling in requests for service.

Yard inspection is one of the few methods that mosquito control technicians can use to directly control this species, which by the summer of 1995 was responsible for 75 percent of all mosquito control service requests in Virginia Beach.

City officials decided their best bet was to educate as many citizens as possible about the Asian Tiger’s behavior and, in so doing, motivate members of the public to take measures on their own to eliminate breeding sites.

With this goal in mind, the Virginia Mosquito Control Association endorsed the development of a 30-second televised public service announcement.

The association, the city and nine other cities in the Hampton Roads region helped pay the production costs. The association also purchased air time from local television networks to supplement the free coverage afforded PSAs.

This helped ensure that the message was aired at times and on stations when the greatest number of citizens would be served. The PSA was first aired during the 1996 mosquito season.

Dreda McCreary, a mosquito control biologist for the city, conducted a survey of residents to determined the effectiveness of the PSA and says she was encouraged with the results. Twenty percent of respondents indicated that they had seen the announcement and remembered its message. In addition, 5 percent of the population received an educational benefit from discussion with a city inspector during individual yard inspections as a result of a request for service.

Although the individual yard inspection program is critical to providing service to city residents, the televised public service announcement has proven to be one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods of public education available for the control of the Asian Tiger mosquito, says McCreary.

In coming years, additional air time will be purchased for broadcast of the PSA, and production of new announcements is planned.

For more information, contact McCreary, (757) 427-7470, or by e-mail, [email protected].