Red alarm level: Asian tiger mosquitos threatens our gardens!

Red alarm level: Asian tiger mosquitos threatens our gardens!

Rust, Deutschland - The Asian tiger mosquito, a nimble, black and white striped insect, is becoming increasingly common in our gardens. Her home country is originally located in East Asia, but now it is also spreading in the Rheingraben and Lake Constance. This is not only responsible for international goods traffic, but also the climate change, which favors the survival and breeding success of this aggressive mosquito species. The ability of the tiger mosquito to transmit tropical virus diseases such as dengue fever is particularly worrying. Current figures show that dengue cases no longer only occur in tropical regions, but also in Europe. Finally, infections were even registered on Lake Garda in autumn 2023, which triggers the alarm, because dengue can even be life -threatening in severe cases.

Andreas Grünwald, who leads the tiger mosquitoes Task Force of the municipal action community to combat the Schnaken plague (KABS) in Rust, knows about the urgency of the problem. KABS relies on biological control and mosquito traps to monitor the spread of the tiger mosquito. A crucial factor? The active cooperation of the population, because the mosquitoes put their larvae in the smallest water accumulation that can be found in many garden. Regentons, watering cans or even coasters of flower pots can be enough to create breeding grounds.

what to do against the spread?

In order to make life difficult for the annoying bloodsuckers, experts advise you to regularly empty or cover vessels in the garden. Did you know that even the smallest amounts of water, such as those of a crown cap, can serve as a breeding ground? Small fish ponds or fountains can also help to get the egg laying under control. If these measures are not feasible, BTI tablets can be used-one is enough for a 50-liter regent barrel and should be repeated every 14 days between April and October.

How urgent the situation is, not only shows the increasing advent of the tiger mosquito in Europe, but also that cases of dengue fever in various countries in Europe have occurred in recent years, including Italy, France and Croatia. The health authority has already pronounced travel warnings in these countries. According to the Federal Foreign Office, security warnings before Dengue fever have currently been included in travel principles for Italy. The massive increase in dengue cases worldwide, especially in Latin America, also lets alarm bells ring in Europe.

with united forces against the tiger mosquito

The KABS supports 97 counties and cities in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg and fights not only out of air, but also on the ground. The monitoring of risk locations is particularly important to recognize the spread of this mosquito species at an early stage. The “mosquito atlas” project promotes citizen participation in the research of the domestic mosquito species, which can provide additional information on combating.

According to the Federal Environment Agency, the tiger mosquitoes in Germany can continue to be introduced due to long -distance travel traffic. You can be found regularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg since 2011. While no transfer has so far been determined by Dengue viruses in Germany, vigilance remains important in order to prepare itself against the lively rising population of the Asian tiger mosquito. Climate change means that the figures of dengue cases have been exploded worldwide since 2000-there were estimated 4.2 million cases in 2022.

We are all called up to critically review our gardens and actively contribute to protection. After all, every empty coaster ensures that we are one step ahead of the tiger mosquito!

For more information on risks and protective measures, you can report the reports of the [SWR] (https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuedtemberg/suedbaden/etert- against--asiatic-asiatic-tigenmuecke-rust-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs-kabs. Deutschlandfunk and Environmental Federal Agency.