Every year, as the rainy season approaches, we receive numerous reminders on how to eradicate mosquitoes and protect ourselves from dengue. Eliminating mosquito breeding grounds with stagnant water, using insect repellent, and taking care of our general health are effective ways to help control the spread of the illness. Despite these simple and helpful measures, we must remain vigilant and consider some lesser-known facts.
Clean up and keep dry
Though we are reminded to empty water containers to keep mosquitoes away, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that mosquitoes lay eggs above the waterline, which stick to the walls of these containers. The eggs can survive drying out for up to eight months and these can still hatch and grow into mosquitoes when water becomes present. This means that it is not only during the rainy season that they breed but all year as long as the conditions are right.
Emptying water containers is important, but we should also scrub the sides of these containers, as well as the walls and floors, to ensure no eggs remain. Continue to keep containers and areas free of stagnant water to avoid attracting egg-laying mosquitoes and the dangers they bring.
Dengue vs. Severe dengue
Maintaining our health is important so that we are able to fight off and recover from illness. While dengue may be asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms in very healthy individuals, having a history of contracting dengue in the past gives you a higher risk of getting severe dengue.
Dengue is usually characterized by fever, aches and pains, and a rash. With severe dengue, there may be vomiting, a bleeding nose or gums, restlessness, blood in the stool, or belly pain and is considered a medical emergency. According to the CDC, around one in 20 patients may develop life-threatening severe dengue.
As long as mosquitoes are allowed to breed, the larger the chance of being infected with dengue repeatedly, and the higher the chances of developing severe dengue.
Kills dengue mosquitoes in seconds
The most effective way to avoid dengue is by preventing mosquito bites. Since a person can be infected with dengue more than once in their lifetime, eliminating dangerous mosquitoes from the home and the community should be an ongoing effort, not just during the rainy season.
Besides keeping your surroundings clean and dry, ensure you use a reliable insect killer, such as Baygon Shield Defense Multi Insect Killer. This product, refreshed from Baygon Odorless Multi Insect Killer, kills dengue mosquitoes in just seconds. It also provides 100 percent knockdown* – not just against mosquitoes, but also cockroaches and flies! (*When directly sprayed on mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus), houseflies (Musca domestica), and cockroaches (Blattella germanica).) With access to an easy solution to keep your home and public areas insect-free, you can worry less about dengue and insect bites that may harm your family.
Continue to keep your home mosquito and insect-free. Baygon Shield Defense Multi-insect Killer is available in leading supermarkets nationwide and online.