The Asian Tiger Mosquito - America's Most Unwanted

The Asian Tiger, a mosquito with an exotic sounding name, Aedes albopictus, vicious biting habits and the potential to carry and pass along several deadly and debilitating diseases with a single bite.

The Asian tiger's global voyage began in Southeast Asia where it's believed to have hitched a ride in a container shipment of used automobile tires headed for Houston, Texas.

Since first being reported there in 1985 the Asian tiger has steadily invaded southern and southeastern states with officials now reporting its presence in more than 36 states, including Maryland and Virginia, as well as the District.

Named for its distinctive white striped legs and body, Asian tiger (Aedes albopictus) mosquitoes are very aggressive daytime biters and feed on a number of hosts, including man, domestic and wild animals and birds.

The Asian tiger mosquito, considered the most invasive of all species and a potential health threat, is recognized as an efficient disease bearer, or 'vector' of over 30 arboviruses including Dengue, West Nile Virus, Encephalitis, and Chikungunya.

In the summer of 2007 the Asian tiger was responsible for the first Chikungunya fever outbreak in Italy. However, experts predict that with global warming all of Europe will eventually become ideal habitat for the species.  As a result the Asian tiger is now regarded as the most significant nuisance mosquito worldwide.

If one disease gave the Asian tiger its 'most unwanted' status in the U.S, it would be West Nile virus -a serious, life-altering and even fatal disease. Carried by birds and spread by infected mosquitoes, it has killed hundreds of millions of birds and more than 1000 people in North America, with new outbreaks occurring each year. The first reported U.S. outbreak was in New York City in 1999, where an average of 2.6 per cent of the population in the area were infected. It was unheard of in North America until this date, and has since spread to 48 states and WashingtonDC.

Unfortunately there is no way to protect against West Nile virus since there is no vaccine - although research is currently underway to develop one. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that preventing the bite is the best protection, since this is how the virus is usually transmitted.

Bite protection essentials include the following precautions:

1. Limit outdoor activity around dusk & dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
2. Wear long pants and shirts and spray all over with insect repellents like DEET before leaving the house.
3. Keep bushes trimmed and grass mown.
4. Use screens and mosquito netting to provide skeeter-free zones in and around the home.

Deprive mosquitoes of their favorite places like standing water, which can become potential mosquito nurseries. It doesn’t take much, an inch or two that has collected in a child’s toy, a flowerpot, an old tire. Stagnant pools, birdbaths and fountains are another mosquito favorite. Females lay their eggs every three days in standing water and they’re not particular where. So don’t forget to clear out the rain gutters too.

Another way to get rid of mosquitoes from your yard are Mosquito traps.   Ones that take advantage of mosquitoes’ sensory abilities by tricking them with features that mimic the smells and visual stimuli associated with people are the most effective. The idea is to make the machine more attractive to a mosquito than a human by emitting CO2, octenol, heat, or light – or a combination of those to lure mosquitoes in. The mosquitoes come in to check out the prospective meal, get sucked in by the fan then trapped in a container where they die. Get them before they get you!

Unfortunately there is no single solution that will rid you entirely of the little biters, but a good mosquito trap is a pretty effective weapon for use in an open space like a back yard. Because, despite the fact that the machines can’t kill every mosquito, they sure do kill heaps - thousands of insects in a single night, in many cases. So if you do invest in one, make sure it's one that has been independently tested and proven to work: (COMPARISON OF MOSQUITO SPECIES AND NUMBERS CAUGHT IN 8 COMMERCIAL MOSQUITO TRAPS).

Mega-Catch™ mosquito traps were developed after an extensive worldwide testing program. One of the primary objectives was to develop a trap which would attract and capture the Asian tiger mosquito. In independent testing, the Mega-Catch™ brand usually seems to come out on top probably because unlike most conventional mosquito traps which rely on various chemicals to attract mosquitoes, their traps employ a wide range of visual stimuli to attract mosquitoes. This is particularly important in the case of the Asian tiger, which are aggressive, often attack in packs and unlike most mosquitoes, bite during the day.

Researchers and mosquito control officials have been battling the Asian tiger for decades now and advances in their understanding of the Asian tiger's biology are emerging quickly as evidenced by the work presented at a recent symposium.

Organized and hosted by the Center for Vector Biology (Rutgers University NJ, USA) the “International Symposium on the Asian Tiger Mosquito” was held in February 2009, attracting 170 participants from 15 countries and 30 US states. For more information visit : http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~vbcenter/atmsymposium.php

Health authorities have worked out that night time adulticiding has little or no affect on the Asian tiger because being daytime biters, by then they are hiding under leaves and bushes when the trucks go by. The most effective way of taming the tiger, is to stop them breeding; and this can be done by removing all their most popular breeding sites - standing water, however little, anwhere - and daily trapping during the season which will interrupt breeding cycles, dramatically reducing mosquito populations and even the number of eggs hatching the following season.

There are no half measures when it comes to this particular species - the only good Asian Tiger mosquito is a dead Asian Tiger mosquito!

So if you don't want to end up with blood on your hands - literally - find out how at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Kill-Mosquitoes