West Nile Virus: Personal Protection Tips

Surveillance data collected over the last four years points to an extremely low possibility that WNv will arrive in the north before it appears other regions of B.C. But if you are travelling to other parts of North America where the virus is present, your best protection against West Nile Virus is personal protection.

Personal protection against mosquito bites includes:

• Wearing light-coloured, loose fitting clothes with long sleeves and pants when possible;
• Applying DEET-based mosquito repellent (follow label precautions; don't use on children under six months of age);
• Using mosquito nets around your home, especially when mosquito populations are high;
• Putting snug-fitting screens on doors and windows, and keeping them in good shape;
• Emptying any source of standing water (a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes) every two days. These include pet bowls, buckets, children's wading pools, flower pots, pool covers, tarps, sagging eaves, wheelbarrows, and even saucers under plants;
• Removing old tires and cover rain barrels with netting as these can also attract mosquito;
• Changing bird baths twice weekly, and add fish or aerators to ornamental pools;
• Filling in depressions in the ground around your yard and check flat roofs for standing water;
• Checking for mosquito larvae in lagoons, dugouts, and standing water on rural properties. Treat with Aquabac 500 larvicide if larvae are present; and
• Avoiding going at dawn and dusk, as mosquitoes are more active during those times.