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Rain puddles bring mosquito infestation - what to do about it

By Brennan Purtzer

With record rainfall flooding Kaunakaka'i and other areas of the island, much of the wet stuff ended up in ponds, swamps and bogs across Moloka'i.

hile frogs are enjoying the ponds, you may have noticed they have also become hatcheries to thousands, if not millions of mosquitoes.

As mad as we get at the whalers who brought them here, the fact remains they are here to stay, and we've got to learn to live with the bloodsuckers.

Here are some tips to dealing with these parasitic pests.

* Avoid swampy areas if you can.

* If you're in a swampy area, try to avoid being there at dawn or dusk.

* Wear long, heavy pants and shirts.

* Tuck your pants into your boots.

* Wear light colored clothing so ticks and bugs show up easily.

* Spray pesticides on your clothing (NOT on your skin).

Even more effective - don't be a mosquito breeding ground.

Try to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the first place. Replacing your outdoor lights with yellow lights and using citronella candles and torches can help drive the mosquitoes away from your immediate area, but they will simply go elsewhere to attack birds and humans. So your most proactive means of helping with the current panic would be to ensure that any and all breeding waters within your control or on your property are taken care of.

Products that work to keep them off you:
Anything with DEET as an ingredient works best, but some may feel uncomfortable with putting such a powerful chemical on them (or anywhere else). Other, natural, repellants are "Skeeter skatter," which is an effective concoction made of natural oils that are displeaseing to mosquitoes. You can buy that at http://www.simmonsnaturals.com/ for just $7.00 a bottle.

Also effective are citronella candles, which give off displeasing scents to the bugs.
The best natural method of mosquito control is promoting a healthy bat population. Opeapea, the Hawaiian Hoary bat, lives only on the islands of Hawaii, Maui and Lana'i. We might want to consider importing the small Opeapea, as they are the largest eaters of mosquitoes and other annoying bugs.

Remember, mosquitoes are more than pests, they carry deadly diseases such as malaria, west nile virus and hepetitus.Some information for this story was gathered at: http://www.lisashea.com/

http://www.molokaitimes.com

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