With diseases like Zika and the West Nile virus, it’s more important than ever to reduce your exposure to mosquitoes. Managing these biting nuisances on your own property can be hard enough, but if your neighbors aren’t also taking steps to control them, you face a losing battle. Short of staying inside all summer, is there anything you can do?

For people in Bryan, there’s good news. City leaders are committed to reducing the mosquito threat. Realizing that controlling these insects is a community effort, Bryan established a special Mosquito Abatement Program (COBMAP). Their program team up with residents, neighborhood groups and homeowner associations to fight mosquitoes throughout the city.

How can you help reduce mosquitoes in your neighborhood

The Bryan Mosquito Abatement Program recognizes that the best way to banish mosquitoes is to get everyone involved in the effort. To this end, there are several things you can do immediately to turn … Read Full Post »

Scientists are biting back against mosquitoes in Texas

Are mosquitoes getting you down? Not only are they an itchy menace, but mosquitoes can also carry diseases.

Because of the threat to human health, scientists are searching for new ways to reduce mosquito populations. Researchers from around the country, including some at Texas A&M in Bryan-College Station, want to find alternatives to pesticides, which kill beneficial insects and pose health risks to both animals and humans. Even worse, pesticides present only a temporary solution since mosquitoes can develop resistance to their effects.

These entomologists and epidemiologies study both the mosquitoes themselves and mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile and Zika, in a quest to discover better ways we can protect ourselves from mosquitoes.

Mosquito diseases

While the threat of the West Nile virus has worried doctors for a while, now Texas also needs to worry about the Zika virus. So far at least 27 cases have … Read Full Post »