The Brazos County Health Department recently confirmed the first local case of Zika Virus. The patient became contracted the virus after traveling outside of the United States to an area with mosquitoes infected with Zika Virus. Currently there are no Zika cases in Texas from people that have been bitten locally. That does not mean you are safe from the diseases mosquitoes spread, including dengue, malaria and chikungunya.
While some people infected with Zika show no symptoms, others will exhibit fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes, muscle pain or headaches. The symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to a week. A urine or a blood test can confirm diagnosis.
Learn more about the threat of Zika Virus to pregnant women
Do-It Yourself Mosquito Prevention
Your best option is to take steps to prevent being bitten. Here are some prevention tips to reduce your chances of mosquito bites:
- Limit your outdoor times between dusk and dawn.
- Wear long sleeve shirts and pants if you are out during the height of mosquito activity times.
- Use mosquito repellent liberally.
- Around your home and yard, drain all standing water where mosquitoes can breed. Even a tiny puddle can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Professional Mosquito Prevention
If you are planning an outdoor event you can call a pest control company to fog your party area the day of the party. This will greatly reduce the mosquito activity for your event. There are also services that can fog your yard on a regular schedule that will reduce the mosquito population.
If you spend a lot of time in the yard, you may want to consider installing a mosquito misting system. The system will release product on a specified schedule to prevent mosquitoes from making your home their home.
Mosquitoes rest on the underside of plants and bushes, so if your yard is a jungle, chances are you will have more mosquitoes. If your neighbor has a pool they don’t maintain on a regular basis, the mosquito population in your yard will increase. If you have a pond on your property or open ditches you can treat those areas with mosquito dunks.
If you live in a neighborhood, you can contact your Homeowners Association to see if your neighborhood is being fogged on a regular basis.
While you can never totally eliminate mosquitoes, you can take steps to prevent you and your family from being bitten by these pests. Cypress Creek Pest Control fogs over 600 neighborhoods, cities and municipalities in the greater Houston area.
