Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud are among the 57 French departments placed in red vigilance with the tiger mosquito on the map of the Mosquito Vigilance site. A classification which means that the insect is “established and active” in the region. The tiger mosquito is the vector of several serious viruses such as chikungunya, dengue and zika.
The tiger mosquito, or Aedes albopictus, is a “diurnal insect, fairly easy to recognize, it is black in color with white spots and especially two parallel white bands on the dorsal part of the thorax” indicates Vigilance-mosquito. “It is smaller than a 1-cent coin, it has a fairly slow flight and is easy to crush in flight”.
Native to Asia, it began to appear in the south of France in the 2000s. The first installation of the insect observed in metropolitan France dates back to 2004 in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes) and the latter caused an epidemic of chikungunya in La Réunion between 2005 and 2006, 270,000 people have been infected, for a total population of 750,000 inhabitants.
Several gestures are to be adopted to avoid proliferation. The government indicated that the tiger mosquito is “adapted to the human environment” and that it “develops preferentially in peri-urban environments, as well as in very dense urban areas”.
It is advisable to empty the cups under the flowerpots at least once a week, or even to remove them, to empty and turn over the seals and the garden equipment, to cover with a mosquito net or fabric the water recovery cans. Fish can also be introduced into the ornamental ponds to eat the larvae.
Several recommendations are to be followed in order to protect yourself from bites. It is necessary to privilege the wearing of long and loose clothes, and to install mosquito nets on the windows. The use of repellents remains the most effective way to avoid getting bitten. The Ministry of Health provides on his website a list of the most effective products for this purpose.
–
