Spring is not yet here when the mosquitoes are already ringing and this is only the beginning. To avoid invasion and limit nuisance, a seasoned expert reveals when to act.
Bad news: the mosquitoes are already here. And much earlier than expected. Hugo Plan, co-director of Biogents and expert in the fight against mosquitoes for more than 20 years, affirms: “the presence of larvae from the end of February is exceptional”. The reason? All the conditions are in place for the mosquito to proliferate particularly this year. First of all, the mild temperatures are ideal for their development, but then there are also longer days and, above all, the presence of water following heavy precipitation in winter. As a result, their numbers are exploding. According to him, everyone must take steps as quickly as possible to limit proliferation.
The expert explains: “the common mosquito needs water to lay eggs, but in the case of the tiger mosquito, a few millimeters are enough, the equivalent of a spilled cap of water.” And when we know that the female tiger mosquito can lay up to 150 eggs, we quickly understand why the invasion is rapid and the importance of acting before development is exponential.
Furthermore, the eggs of these mosquitoes are perfectly resistant to winter. We can therefore already find eggs laid last October and November in the gardens which are waiting for the perfect conditions to hatch. For Hugo Plan, we must therefore act as soon as the conditions for proliferation are in place: when temperatures are around 15° C, as is the case now. This is the wake-up call for these thousands of dormant eggs: as soon as the mild weather sets in, they just wait for a light shower to hatch all at the same time. If we let this firing window pass, the cycle will become more difficult to stop.
His advice? Firstly, fight against stagnant water in the garden: empty the gutters, add a little sand under the saucers of flower pots, etc. As it is almost impossible to eliminate all traces of water from your outdoor space, he strongly recommends using a suction trap in addition. Although commercial chemical repellents can be effective, they do not solve the problem in the long term. On the other hand, a trap of this type, like those developed by Biogents, imitates human presence in order to attract and suck in female mosquitoes for good and prevent them from laying eggs. Over time, this method helps reduce bites without using an insecticide.
More and more tiger mosquitoes are rampant in France: they are now present in 81 departments even though they were not declared in the territory before 2004. In addition to being particularly annoying since it bites all day long, this mosquito is responsible for the transmission of diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and the Zika virus. It is therefore better to act even before the first bites of the season.
