Just Get those Mosquitoes Under Control!

When I was growing up on the South Shore of Long Island, hot summer nights brought out the fun of capturing lightning bugs, TAG, You’re IT!, Hide-N-Seek, Green, Light, Red, Light, One,Two, Three, Freeze Tag, and a host of other outdoor yard games.

But as I lay down to sleep with the open windows (as my mother said who needed air conditioning when we had that wonderful ocean bay breeze), the worst sound was the unpleasant buzzing sound of mosquitoes in my ear. I could sleep through any noises of the night, but the buzz of the mosquitoes, followed by more than a few unwelcome skin welts after they took their tasty meal, has sworn me to air conditioning and heavy doses of mosquito repellents forever!

What I did not know then was the threat of so many human diseases from mosquitoes, nor of heartworm disease from mosquitoes to our beloved pets. Fast forward to now, and we know so much more about these mosquitoes, the diseases, and ways to prevent them from spreading.  We have organizations like the fabulous Companion Animal Parasite Control (CAPC) with their maps to warn us about the impending dangers in our local areas to both people and pets.

The new CAPC Mosquito Control Guidelines are particularly interesting to me as I’ve worked with so many of the organizations and individuals who conduct research and educate veterinarians and the pet-owning public about this subject. We are all trying to understand this most dangerous mammal on the planet – and this surely is an important step in the right direction in veterinary medicine. I’ll be interested to see what the next step is, and for me, it truly is all about – let’s get those darn mosquitoes under control, and in my mind, no more buzzing please! Enjoy what we cover in this latest issue, we will surely be covering more!

@lgerminder