The Cat N the Mosquito Trap
Mosquitoes love your family and your pets. In addition to being a nuisance, mosquitoes are known to transmit diseases such as West Nile virus and Heartworm in cats and dogs.
The FDA has traditionally advised keeping your pet indoors around dawn and dusk, because that’s when many mosquito species feed. However that advice is no longer enough to protect your pet. The Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is an aggressive daytime biter and it carries both West Nile virus and heartworm parasites. So each time your pet is outside in mosquito territory, it is a sitting target for hungry female mosquitoes seeking a blood meal.
West Nile virus along with the age-old, ever adaptable mosquito, is probably here to stay so ongoing precautions are essential. The same thing that protects you against mosquito diseases also protects your pets. Prevention!
- Eliminate breeding sites
- Use mosquito repellents, and
- Decrease exposure
Eliminate Breeding Sites
Change the water in birdbaths and paddling pools weekly and clean debris from rain gutters. Eliminating standing water and long grasses will also help create an inhospitable environment for mosquitoes, encouraging them to go elsewhere
Repellents for Pets
There are a number of mosquito repellents available for pets, however as no repellent is 100% effective, heartworm preventatives should still be used. When choosing a mosquito repellent for your cat or dog, bear in mind that certain chemicals may be harmful or even fatal to your pets. Human repellents containing DEET have been known to poison cats and should never be used on them.
Protect your Dog: Look for repellents specifically formulated and recommended for pets that contain either permethrins or pyrethrins, such as “Flys Off Spray”.
Protect your Cat: Look for products containing pyrethrin. Pyrethrins are a natural, organic insecticide that can be safely used on cats. Products such as “bioSpot Flea & Tick Spray” and “bioSpot SPOT ON®” are considered both safe and effective for cats.
NB: Permethrins are toxic to cats and should never be used on them.
Natural Control to Reduce Mosquitoes
- Bats and purple martins are often touted as great mosquito predators, and they can consume large numbers of flying insects including mosquitoes. Having a bat or bird house in your yard is yet another way of decreasing the mosquito population naturally, without the use of toxic chemicals.
- Mosquitoes love to breed in still, stagnant water. To avoid this problem add goldfish, koi or some Mosquito Fish to your ornamental pool or pond. A pond with a healthy and hungry fish population will eat most mosquito eggs, larvae and pupae.
- The addition of a fountain, waterfall or aerator is another option. This will help to circulate the water quickly, making it difficult for mosquitoes to breed.
- Consider using a mosquito trap to help control mosquitoes and reduce the chances of being bitten. Because mosquitoes find their prey by detecting CO2, Octenol and other chemical odors, as well as light and heat, most mosquito traps use some combination of artificial smells and lighting displays to lure, trap and kill mosquitoes. Mega-Catch™ mosquito traps are a safe and highly effective way to help rid your yard of those nuisance mosquitoes, biting midges (no-see-ums) black flies and sand flies, all without the use of insecticides, fogs or sprays.
When set up properly, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, just one or two of these ingenious devices can kill thousands of mosquitoes and all but wipe out a local population, reducing the risk of mosquito-borne diseases for you and your pet.
