For Release May 15, 2005

It's Insect (slap) Season Again

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

With the warm weather of spring, the biting insect, and near insects, get busy causing us discomfort, annoyance and though rare, sometimes even health concerns. The list of annoying critters seems to grow a little bit more every year. Traditionally we have to deal with mosquitoes, ticks (both Dog Tick and Lone Star Ticks), chiggers and occasionally some biting flies. Relatively new this year, and seemingly quite abundant is a small fly or gnat that you rarely feel bite you, but can leave quite a welt after it has fed and left! This appears to be one of the black flies but I am still awaiting positive identification.

West Nile Virus is the disease that most people currently seem to be concerned about. But let's not forget the many other insect borne diseases including Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, tularemia and human monocytic ehrlichiosis. All of these are diagnosed in Kansas every year and are reason enough to try to minimize your risk of being bitten by these arthropods.

The goal is not to sequester yourself in your house for the duration of the summer, but to take prudent steps to reduce the risk of being bitten by any of these annoying creatures. There is not a quick and easy, single solution to the problem. We find it much better to take a holistic approach to reducing pest populations, while also protecting yourself and your family from being bitten.

Spraying everything in sight, with an insecticide, is not a viable option. Many of these pests hide where you can't easily get sprays to them. In the case of mosquitoes, foggers and space sprays are virtually a waste of time. But we can do something about breeding locations. Don't allow anything to hold the same water for more than three days. Pet watering dishes, bird baths, even saucers under flower pots need to be dumped every few days and replaced with fresh water. Make sure that downspouts and gutters aren't plugged and don't leave old tires or anything that will hold water, laying around. Spraying lawns can reduce the population of ticks and chiggers and may be warranted if you have pets.

The one most important item you can do is to protect yourself from being bitten. If possible, avoid yard work in the early mornings and evenings as biting insects are more active at that time. Wear long sleeves and long pants to minimize the amount of exposed skin area to be bitten. On exposed skin, use an insect repellent containing no more than 30% DEET as an active ingredient. High percentage formulations work no better or for a greater length of time. Use lower concentration products on children. Do not reapply insect repellent more often than is indicated on the instruction label. When you have returned inside, wash all the skin area that was treated with DEET.

Clothing can also be treated with DEET or one of the clothing treatment products containing permethrin. These products are not to be used on skin. Treat your clothing, socks, shoes and hats with this product. Do this several minutes before venturing outside so it has a chance to dry. This treatment, when applied and allowed to dry, will survive several trips through the washing machine. Finally, once you are back inside, always do a check on yourself and your children for any ticks that might have hitched a ride from outside. If you follow all these suggestions you should have a relatively bite free summer season!

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