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two thirds of the population exposed to the tiger mosquito

You may have already started to kill one who had just pricked you on your arm, with the beautiful days, the tiger mosquito has returned.

This year again, it will spread in our department, as for several years. Indeed, five years ago, only the city of Mourrenx was affected, in 2020, it is now two-thirds of the population of the department who are exposed to the tiger mosquito and above all, the big cities.

So if it doesn’t really pose a risk here, it can be a vector for spreading diseases like dengue or chikungunya, and if a person comes back from another country with one of these diseases, it can promote its spread.

An invasion in the department

To explain its expansion in the department, you should know that the tiger mosquito is a species qualified as invasive by the ARS, because it gradually takes the place of other local mosquitoes.

A species that lays faster than the others, around 200 eggs every twelve days on average, and that it adapts to all situations. It can for example lay eggs in very small containers such as in an overturned plastic bottle cap.

In addition to that, before each winter they lay eggs that will hold, and therefore in the spring when they hatch, their spread starts again from the point where it stopped the previous year.

But if they have spread so much here, it is also because they travel, not necessarily by themselves, but by human beings. It sneaks into cars and trucks. As in the department, the circulation of cars and trucks is important, its propagation has been facilitated.

One recommendation

To limit its excessive expansion, to avoid possible health risks and so that we can still enjoy our outdoor walks, one recommendation, we must remove all stagnant water from our balconies, and from our gardens.

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