NSW is experiencing heavy rain and significant flooding, resulting in water lying around. This water, combined with warmer temperatures provides ideal conditions for mosquito breeding.
Mosquitoes will lay their eggs on or in still and stagnant water. They lay more than 300 eggs at once – that's a lot of extra mosquitoes. This means there is in an increased risk for people to be infected with mosquito-borne diseases, like Japanese encephalitis.
Reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home or business by taking the following steps at least once a week – Screen up, Clean up!
NSW Health undertakes mosquito surveillance across NSW from October/November to April/May each year. Local councils may also undertake mosquito control measures such as fogging and spraying of adulticides and insecticides in outdoor areas, which can assist in reducing local mosquito abundance.
If you live on a farm, take the following additional steps to reduce the chance of mosquitoes breeding around your farm or property:
don't allow irrigation water to flow into and lie undisturbed in roadside table drains
The best way to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home is to:
Backyard water-holding containers make perfect mosquito breeding habitats because mosquitoes need still and stagnant water to lay their eggs. Take the following steps, at least once per week, to get reduce the risk of mosquitoes breeding around the home:
Mosquitoes need still and stagnate water to breed, and some mosquitoes can breed in very small amounts of water, such as in the water that collects in a discarded drink can. Mosquito eggs need access to standing water for about a week to complete their development, so emptying a water-filled container once a week can stop the immature mosquitoes from completing their development and emerging as adults.
