The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-06-08

was found a half-barrel with standing
water in it which was giving out mos
quitoes at the rate of hundreds per
day. FREQUENT change of water or the
use of kerosene will render all such
breeding places harmless.
In community work in cities all of
the points mentioned must be borne in
mind, and in the portions of the COM
munity where the residences are for
the most part villas, in the absence of
swampy suburbs the householders are
in the main responsible for their own
mosquitoes. There are, however,
breeding places for which the munich
pality may be said to be responsible,
and these entirely aside from public
fountains, reservoirs, or marshes.
Roadside open cutters or bitches may
breed a generation of any one of sew
eral species of mosquitoes, including
malarial mosquitoes. On a pasture or
common, where sod has been re-
moved, water accommodating in the ex-
cavation thus formed may breed a gen.
Grafton of malarial mosquitoes. All
such accidental breeding places should
be abolished by filling in.
1t seems unlikely that in any gen.
eral sewage system mosquitoes may
breed in the sewers proper. That they
do breed in the catch basins is well
known. The purpose of the catch
basin is to catch and retain by sedi-
mentation sand and refuse which
would otherwise enter the sewer and
deposit in it. 1t is intended to be
water tight and to hold considerable
body of water, which stands in it up
to the level of the outlet pipe. Such
catch basins are very commonly used
in back yards and at the crossings Of
streets. The water is removed only
by rain or when the street or yard sur
faces are washed. In dry seasons the
period of stagnation may last several
weeks, certainly long enough for mos
quito breeding. AS a matter of fact,
mosquitoes in midsummer do breed in
such traps or catch basins by millions.
These basins may be treated with pc
tToleum, or the municipal authorities
may flush them once a week; carrying
away such larvae as may have
Matched. Kerosene treatment, how
ever, is the best.
Public dumps are great breeding
lplaces, because here accumulate old
bottles, cans, boxes, bits of tin or iron
vessels, and other objects in which
water may accumulate for time.
Even very small amount of water
will make a breeding place for very
many mosquitoes. 1t is quite possible
for half of a beer bottle to contain
enough water to give out literally
thousands of mosquitoes. The writer
knows of one instance where a verita'
bic plague of mosquitoes was traced
to case of empty beer bottles al
) lowed to remain in a back yard for
some weeks in midsummer
Treatment of Breeding Places.
While it is obviously best to abolish
breeding places in theOways men,
toned, it often happens that It is not
possible to drain, and at least as a
temporary expedient it becomes desir-
able to treat the water so as to kill
the mosquito larvae. Many substances
have been tried, and, aside from GER
tain proprietary mixtures, nothing has
given such good results as the use of
oils. Efforts to find oils that can be
used to better advantage than petrol
cum have failed. Common kerosene
of low grade, or of the grade known
as fuel oil, is the most satisfactory as
regards efficiency and price.
The Practical Use Of Natural Enemies
of Mosquitoes.
The common goldfish and silverfish
= destroy mosquito larvae and should be
put in artificial ponds. Top-minnows
of several species have been intro
duced successfully in several local.
ties and are great feeders upon mos
quito larvae Certain species intro
duced from Texas into Hawaii hav,
been successful; and a small top-min
, now of the genus Girardinus, know
> in the Barbados as millions" ha
= been carried with success to other
i of the British West India islands Il
: Rio de Janeiro another top-minnoy
5 has been used by the public health sci
) vice for placing in tanks and boxe
where it was impossible to use petro
{ cum.
+ There are many predatory aquati
$ insects that feed upon mosquito lal
l "