The City of Totana participates in the Regional Entomological Surveillance System of the Mosquito Tigre, a program is carried out among the attached Town Halls, the Ministry of Health and the Faculty of Biology of the University of Murcia.
The Department of Health, through the concession company of the pest control service in the urban environment Lokímica SA, has been acting regularly, when established by the entomological calendar, in the installation of several traps in order to monitor the presence of Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) in public spaces and infrastructures of Totana susceptible to its presence.
This action, which has already been carried out in recent years, has enabled the presence of specimens of this species of mosquito to be certified in various locations in both the urban area, urbanizations and rural areas.
These traps remain active from the month of April until the end of November, proceeding to review biweekly in order to detect the presence of this mosquito.
On the part of the municipal veterinary services, the rainwater imbornales are treated periodically, as well as in the water pools, by applying larvicidal and adulticidal insecticide products.
The tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is a potential vector for viral diseases, such as Dengue, Chikungunya, or Zika.
You do not need large sheets of water for your breeding, but rather you prefer small water ponds such as the containers, dishes or sherds that are in the gardens, patios and terraces particular for the pots, buckets with water, small fountains or ornamental lakes, drains of patios, terraces or pools with water, drinking fountains for pets, gutters, ashtrays, etc.
For its control, it is necessary that on the part of the neighbors the facilities of this type that can be had in the houses are reviewed, avoiding the small accumulations of water, or frequently renewing their water.
The tiger mosquito is a small mosquito, adults do not usually exceed 5 millimeters in length, it is therefore smaller than the mosquitoes we are used to seeing.
On the other hand, it is a mosquito that usually has a low flight, so bites occur mainly in the legs, and sometimes can cause inflammatory reactions more evident than those of native mosquitoes.
The activity of these mosquitoes is not limited to night time, but is continuous throughout the day.
To avoid its bite, it is convenient to use mosquito repellents when going out to the gardens, terraces and courtyards of the houses, as well as the adoption of measures that prevent small water pools.
Among the repellent products that exist in the market, those that have been proven most effective in the protection against the tiger mosquito are those that incorporate in its composition: DEET (18%), IR3535, ICARIDINE (15%) or CITRODIOL.
The use of CITRONELLA-based products has not been proven effective.
In the case of suspicion of the presence of a tiger mosquito in a dwelling, residents can contact the City Council through the Department of Health.
