The Rural Voice, 2001-06, Page 45Gardening
Gardeners need to help fight West Nile Virus
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
Well it has finally happened. I
have been given a reason to drain a
sunken tub in the backyard.
For years the tub has been home to
assorted frogs and bugs and of course
mosquitoes. My husband, who swells
up with red angry lumps when bitten.
by mosquitoes, has threatened to
empty the mosquito breeding bowl
for years but I have put him off with
a number of arguments: my
duckweed grows there which I then
scoop out and supplement the fish
diet in the larger pond; the frogs are
more content there; and it offers them
a sheltered spot for laying eggs free
from golden predators.
But this year some mosquitoes are
offering us a little more than a bite
and a welt. West Nile Virus is spread
by certain species of mosquitoes and
for this reason gardeners across
Ontario are being asked by local
public health departments to help
fight West Nile Virus by reducing the
breeding habitat for mosquitoes in
their gardens.
This disease is new to North
America and is not common to
Ontario, at least not yet. It is
transmitted by a sequence of steps
involving specific mosquito species.
Mosquitoes bite birds transferring the
virus. Certain birds, mostly bluejays
and crows, act as wonderful hosts
allowing the virus to multiply within
their system. The mosquitoes then
bite the infected bird later in the
season and withdraw a more
concentrated dose of virus than they
had deposited in the spring. They
then inject this virus into people.
West Nile Virus (WNV) originates
in Africa and the Middle East and
made its way to North America two
years ago. It is a virus that can cause
encephalitis (inflammation of the
brain). Since 1999, in New York
State, 82 were sick and nine people
died. Most people infected with
WNV do not get sick. Usually the
elderly and those with weakened
immune systems may experience
mild fever, headache, stiff neck,
nausea, and muscle weakness. In rare
cases these symptoms may progress
into serious illness involving
inflammation of the brain and spinal
cord.
There are ways that you can help
to reduce the nuisance factor of
mosquitoes, thus improving your
summer and preventing the spread of
WNV in Ontario.
The first step is to minimize their
breeding areas on your property.
Mosquitoes look for moist areas:
long grass, ponds that are not aerated,
rain barrels, abandoned containers,
birdbaths and tires. The easiest
solution is to empty containers
weekly, aerate your ponds, cover rain
barrels with fine mesh screen, and
keep your birdbaths refreshed with
clean water every week. Even those
nasty rain gutters have to be cleaned
out. The introduction of gold fish into
your rain barrel would be one
solution but remember that they don't
flourish in warm water and come fall
would need to find a new home.
The next step is to protect
yourself. Avoid sitting outside
between dusk and dawn and if you
like to sit out during the evening,
wear long sleeves and use an insect
repellent with five per cent DEET
which will offer you two hours of
protection. Check your door and
window screens to make sure they tit
tightly and do not have holes.
Public Health departments need all
of us to help stop this disease from
spreading. You can help by:
• Draining the Rain once a week
• Reducing mosquito breeding sites
• Protecting yourself from
mosquitoes.
If you need more information on
West Nile Virus call your local health
department.
Meanwhile in our back yard there
is a sunken, empty tub. I think a bog
garden would be great there but I am
still getting negative responses from
my partner. It may just become a
sunken garden filled with standard
soil and assorted blooming beauties.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She,is a skilled
cook and gardener.
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JUNE 2001 41