The Ministry of the Environment suggests that people take 10 to 15 minutes, at least every two days and after every rain, to walk around their property and remove all standing water.
“Dengue fever has touched all of us. If we have not had it, we know of someone that did or does. The human suffering as well as personal and economic losses to the families and the country are too great to ignore the issue,” the Ministry statement reads.
Dengue Fever, which is ravaging The Bahamas, is caused by the bite of a female aedes aegypti mosquito, which “love to live with us.”
The aedes aegypti are domestic creatures that do not travel far and breed in clean or relatively clean water. They rest in dark, quiet places like bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, closets and under furniture.
“The only way we can rid ourselves of dengue is to get rid of the mosquitoes. The only way for us to do that is to break their life cycle.
“One female mosquito lays up to 100 eggs at a time. We must take our homes and yard back,” the release said.
The Health Ministry says it sprays between 3:00am and 7:30am, while most people are asleep and the mosquito is most active. But fogging alone only kills about half the mosquitos.
Aerosol sprays should be used in the home to kill adult mosquitos, and should be sprayed in restrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, closets and under furniture.
Leave your windows open during the night (only if you have intact screens) to allow the fog sprayed by Environmental Health Services to enter your home, the Ministry suggested.
If you grow plants that hold water in the centre cup or have any other water reservoirs in your yards, Environmental Health Services will provide you with larvacide to kill mosquitoes during the developmental stage.
Mosquito Elimination Tips:
* Spray around swimming pools and rainwater tanks
* Tightly cover all water containers, or empty them and turn them upside-down
* Make sure that wells, septic tanks and soak-aways are properly covered
* Dispose of garbage properly
* Remove water in plant platters and scrub thoroughly to remove mosquito eggs
* Change standing water every two days
* Clean and scrub the inner side of vases.
“Let’s get rid of dengue. We have to work together to achieve the common goal for the greater good,” the ministry said.
