Hello, and welcome to the Fairfax County Health and Safety Podcast for April 15, 2008. I’m Jim Person, Fairfax County emergency information officer. Coming up, learn about protecting yourself from mosquitoes and ticks, and the diseases they transmit. Links to topics mentioned in this podcast can be found online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov.
It’s springtime again and that means spending more time outdoors. It also means that mosquitoes and ticks are out and the Health Department wants you to be aware of these pests and how you can protect yourself and your family from the diseases they transmit.
Mosquitoes are constant pests during the spring, summer and fall. Mosquitoes need water for part of their development. Most people don’t realize that they may be contributing to their backyard mosquito problem by providing this water and raising their own mosquitoes. The county’s number one nuisance mosquito, the Asian tiger mosquito, mainly grows in artificial containers including the black corrugated drain pipes that are found in many people’s yards. If these pipes do not drain correctly, they will hold water and this makes a great place for the mosquitoes to grow.
Ticks can be found in your yard as well as in forested areas. Lyme disease, which is transmitted by the black-legged or deer tick, is a serious health threat to residents of Fairfax County.
Dressing properly—wearing long, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing and tucking your pant legs into your socks will help protect you from ticks. Make sure to check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks periodically and at the end of the day as the ticks may have found you without you noticing them. If you find an attached tick, carefully remove it using a fine-tipped tweezers by grabbing it as close to the skin as possible. You can bring your tick to the Health Department for identification. If you become sick after a tick bite or see a bull’s-eye shaped rash, see your physician.
Repellents are a safe and effective way to prevent mosquito and tick bites. A wide variety of repellents are available for use. Please be sure to read the label and follow the directions. It is important to know how often to re-apply the product. And parents, don’t let your children apply repellent themselves—do it for them.
The Disease Carrying Insects Program of the Fairfax County Health Department recently published a brochure entitled “Protecting Yourself from Disease Carrying Insects” that aims to inform readers about mosquitoes, ticks, West Nile virus, Lyme disease and insect repellents. This informative brochure was mailed to every residence in the county in late March and early April.
If you’d like more details on the brochure – or mosquito, tick and repellent information –visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fightthebite.
That’s it for this edition of the Fairfax County Health and Safety Podcast, produced by the Fairfax County, Virginia government. Thanks for listening. Additional information about health and safety topics and emergency preparedness may be found online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov.