Mosquito spraying begins

If you’ve been outside in the evenings lately or down by the river or lake, you’ve undoubtedly come in contact with those irritating little buzzers – mosquitoes.

The Hot Springs County Weed and Pest Control District will be doing their aerial spraying for mosquitoes in the Lucerne Valley area and Owl Creek areas between July 1 and July 3, as well as Thermopolis and other areas of the county, weather permitting.

Although the active ingredients in the pesticides generally break down quickly and do not leave a toxic residue, there are some precautions you can take to minimize your exposure.

The most sensible thing is to stay indoors during the spraying. Keep your windows closed, turn off fans and air conditioning. The spraying doesn’t take long, so everything can be opened up soon after the spraying and activities can return to normal.

As with any pesticide, if you’re growing fruits and vegetables, be sure to wash them with water before eating them, and keep your pets indoors if at all possible.

The small amount of pesticides they could be exposed during the spraying should not cause any more serious adverse health effects than the products contained in flea collars, dips or shampoos.

All products used by Weed and Pest are CDC approved for use around people and pets.

Mosquitoes can be more than an annoyance as they can carry the West Nile Virus. While most people who become infected with West Nile never develop any symptoms, some of the illnesses associated with it can be serious.

Things to look for include the development of a fever with other symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or a rash.

Most who suffer these symptoms recover completely, but the fatigue and weakness that goes along with it could last for weeks or months after exposure.

Less than one percent of people infected with West Nile will develop serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis.

More severe symptoms include a high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, tremors, seizures or paralysis. People over the age of 60 are at greatest risk for the worst of West Nile.

While there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatments available for West Nile virus, over the counter pain relievers can be used to reduce the fever and relieve some of the symptoms.

In severe cases, patients often need to be hospitalized to receive supportive treatments like IV fluid, pain medications and nursing care.