Central Coast mosquito season reaches peak
Rain, heat and king tides have created the perfect storm of conditions for a mozzie plague on the Central Coast. Our expert gives you three crucial tips for avoiding bites.
- Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp and captain Matt Simon deny rift between players and coach
- Mosquito season: Ross River virus risk warns NSW Health
THEY’RE the killer of backyard barbecues, and have already starting sucking the blood out of Central Coast residents.
A perfect storm of heat, rain and king tides has placed the Coast in prime mosquito season.
NSW Health Pathology mosquito researcher Cameron Webb said Coasties are already being mobbed.
“There are a lot of mosquitoes around thanks to the rain and the big tides at the end of December,” Dr Webb said.
“Mosquitos lay eggs on wetlands and they can stay dormant waiting for the perfect conditions. In areas above the high tide mark, when the king tide comes and the water floods those areas, it’s ideal for the eggs hatching. After a week or so you get thousands and thousands of mosquitoes coming out. They can actually fly many kilometres away.”
Dr Webb, who has been chasing and researching mozzies across NSW swamps for the past 20 years, said the Coast was a popular location for these unwelcome pests, with plenty of mangroves and salt marshes.
Three tips to avoid getting bitten
■ Clean up toys/buckets around the backyard
“This time of year people are trying to keep their plants alive and leaving water out in plastic containers,” Dr Webb said.
“These attract more mosquitoes, as well as toys and other items lying around backyards.”
■ Cover up with long sleave shirts and pants
“The best thing to remember is that mosquitoes are active in the afternoons and early mornings,” Dr Webb said.
■ Use insect repellents like sunscreen
Dr Webb said many people dab repellents on like perfume and wonder why they still get bitten.
“You need to lather it on. Any of the repellents in the supermarkets and pharmacies are fine as long as they are used correctly.”
Did you know? It’s the females who are the blood suckers.
“Only the female mosquitoes bite,” Dr Webb said.
“The blokes can live off plant juices and sugars. The girls need extra energy from blood so they can lay more eggs.”
When someone is regularly bitten by mozzies, we often use the expression “you must have sweet blood”.
Dr Webb said it came down to the smell of the skin and not the taste of blood.
“When they are trying to find something to bite, they sense carbon dioxide, but when they get closer they smell skin,” he said.
“For the people who always get bitten, it might just be their stinky skin making them more attractive.”
He said young children tend to react more to bites compared to adults.
“They need to be careful not to scratch too much and get infected.”
When will they go away?
Dr Webb said mozzies are set to hang around until Anzac Day.
“For the next couple of months numbers will be up and down with rainfall and tides,” he said.
“They will only start to ease off in cooler weather.”
What commercial fishers are doing to protect the humpback highway
With thousands of whales about to hit the “humpback highway”, commercial fishermen are trialling new gear to stop them from becoming entangled. Read what they’re doing here.
Prominent horse trainer gallops to court after drink driving bust
A prominent Central Coast horse trainer who was caught driving over twice the legal alcohol limit at 3am had bloodshot eyes and was slurring his words when police pulled him over.