The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1912-06-29
Mosquito determination


tJournal OF American Medical ASSN
Mosquitoes can be-indeed are being
eliminated from human experience in the
United States. The Jersey mosquito" 10
not the exclusive property of that Com
monwealth alone; it breeds in the salt
water marshes all the way from Massa-
chusetts to Florida, wherever a fresh
water stream dilutes the ocean saitiness
sufficiently to attract the mosquito. Mos
quitoes of the salt-marsh group are not
disease breeding, however, though more
intensely annoying than others. The
Anopheles, which spreads malaria, and
the Stegomyia, which conveys yellow
fever, propagate in fresh water, in stag
| nant pools, even in standing water in
houses. The greater number of species
seldom travel more than few hundred
yards from their breeding places and,
away from salt marshes, most places are
| locally infested; these facts place the
problem of mosquito extermina ton
| squarely before the individual house
| holder and the community Immediately
| interested.
Most osluitoes-certainly those or
| the anopheles tribe, in which the female
| of the species is far more deadly than the
| made-are active only after dark. To
| rid house of them, one must tumigate
with pyrethrum powder or some other
| substance that will make dense smoke,
| taking care that no mosquitoes are al
| lowed to Turk in remote places to which
| the fumes have not access. A pound of
| pyrethrum is necessary for every 1000
| cubic feet of interior space. Screens,
unless absolutely tight, with mesh of
| 20 to the inch, are useless against mos
quitoes. The only means or permanent
ly preventing mosquitoes is the destruc-
tion of their breeding places, which may
be anywhere that water can accumulate
and stand for ten days or more. 1t is
very well to drain marshes, ponds, foun-
| tains and wet places in lawns and gar
dens; but determination will not be thor
ough and effective unless one realizes
| that no body of water can be too small
| for a mosquito nursery. Myriads may
| breed in pudd'es by the roadside; in
little used horse-troughs, in chicken pans
in poultry wards, in water cups standing
| on the frames of grindstones, in water
| that accumulates in burrows in gardens
| or fields, especially in clayey soil; in
| water pitchers in unused guest roms, in
| vases in which water has not frequently
been changed, in discarded tin cans in
| back yards, in sewer catch basins-in
| fact, in any place where half pint of
| water is allowed TO stand. Since mos
quitoes breed only in standing wafer, to
eliminate them it is necessary simply to
find and drain or to oil all the possible
breeding places.
| The city of Huntsville, S c.. little as
to size but big enterprise, has for sew
eral years past annually employed mea-
sures which our communities may we'll
emulate. Its health board first dstribut-
ed to all householders circulars pointing
out the dangers of mosquitoes and re-
commencing screens and constant super
vision of premises to prevent breeding.
Then the Council surveyed the entire
city, drained low places where rain water
accumulated and made weekly inspec-
tons of all premises and bitches in town
putting kerosene regularly in any water
that could not be drained or emptied
tan ounce OF kerosene for each Is square
feet of water surface. Most of the
breeding places were found in back yards
Dr. w. Eg,eston, the health commits
Is!oner, reports that malaria though very
prevalent decade ago, is now prac
tically negligible disease. The inhabi-
tants of Hartsville it is said, now sit
| on their unscrened porches in the even
ings with no discomfort from mosqui-
toes. If every community in the coun-
Try would follow the example of Harris
willie, the mosquito problem would soon
cease to veX US.