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Summer of Tick Trouble: Hundreds Visit NJ Emergency Rooms for Tick Bites in 2024

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, as the warm weather arrives, it brings with it an increase in tick and mosquito activity, posing a greater risk for diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus. In 2024, New Jersey has already seen nearly 700 people visit emergency rooms for tick bites, and this number is expected to rise as the summer progresses.

Continue reading Summer of Tick Trouble: Hundreds Visit NJ Emergency Rooms for Tick Bites in 2024

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Protect Yourself Against West Nile virus and Lyme disease

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Each year, the start of warmer weather brings the emergence of ticks and mosquitoes and the threat of related diseases, such as West Nile virus and Lyme disease. The New Jersey Departments of Health (NJDOH), Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and Agriculture (NJDA) urge residents to protect themselves from these bugs for a safe and healthy summer season.

Continue reading Protect Yourself Against West Nile virus and Lyme disease

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Are Foggers Effective in Controlling Mosquitoes and Ticks Before a Party?

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Beautiful summertime is upon us. And that means barbeques, pool parties, weddings, and any other excuse to gather for fun under the sun. As you extend your invitations, gather the food, and enjoy the growing excitement, there is a list of uninvited guests lingering outside. You probably don’t know they’re there yet, but they are looking forward to their upcoming feast.

Continue reading Are Foggers Effective in Controlling Mosquitoes and Ticks Before a Party?

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5 Tips To Keep Mosquitoes Away

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Dr. Craig Stoops ,LCDR (ret.) MSC USN, is a retired U.S. Navy Medical Entomologist and chief science officer at Mosquito® Authority, a mosquito control company.

Ridgewood NJ, Summer is on its way, which means so are mosquitoes. The flying pests invade neighborhoods like an army, but they aren’t just a backyard nuisance with bites that itch. They also can carry dangerous diseases, including West Nile virus and Zika.

Continue reading 5 Tips To Keep Mosquitoes Away

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Bergen County Department of Public Works -Mosquito Control Division will be applying pesticides throughout BERGEN COUNTY during the period from April 30, 2019 to October 31, 2019

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, Mosquito Control is everyone’s responsibility; please do your part by preventing mosquitoes from breeding on your property. For more information on mosquitoes and mosquito control contact the Bergen County Mosquito Control Program at 201-634-2880 or 201-634-2881 and or visit our website at https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/mosquito-control.

Continue reading Bergen County Department of Public Works -Mosquito Control Division will be applying pesticides throughout BERGEN COUNTY during the period from April 30, 2019 to October 31, 2019

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Warm and rainy weather requires property owners to take steps to avoid mosquito breeding

Garden theridgewoodblog.net

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Mosquitoes can breed even in the smallest amount of water. Dump all water that collects in your back yard to reduce mosquito-borne illnesses risks!

Warm and rainy weather requires property owners to take steps to avoid mosquito breeding. Residents, business owners and contractors can take these steps to reduce mosquito populations:

• Empty water from flower pots, pet food and water dishes, birdbaths, swimming pool covers, buckets, barrels and cans at least once or twice a week

Continue reading Warm and rainy weather requires property owners to take steps to avoid mosquito breeding
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The Bergen County Mosquito Control Division Gears up for Mosquito Season

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the staff of the Ridgewooed blog

Hackensack NJ, The Bergen County Mosquito Control Division, founded in 1914, has the goal of reducing the number of nuisance and disease-transmitting mosquitos within the county. The division employs numerous field-tested techniques in its efforts to control mosquito outbreaks and the insects’ impact on Bergen’s residents. All of this work is done with minimal impact on the environment. The program can be summarized as follows: 

Continue reading The Bergen County Mosquito Control Division Gears up for Mosquito Season
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New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection : West Nile Virus

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection , with reports of West Nile virus illnesses in people at a record level and persistent warm and rainy weather, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Department of Health are urging property owners to take steps to reduce mosquito populations and to protect themselves against the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses.

Both agencies are also working coordinating with officials in Bergen County to continue monitoring, tracking and spraying efforts as well as public education. The county recently experienced two West Nile-related deaths.

Mosquitoes can breed even in the smallest amount of water. Dump all water that collects in your back yard to reduce mosquito risks!

Continue reading New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection : West Nile Virus

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Ridgewood Health Department : Be Aware of Standing Water and Mosquitoes that Carry Disease

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the Ridgewood Health Department

Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department reminds you that warm weather with all this rain  you need to be aware of standing water and the mosquitoes that breed there. Reducing mosquito populations, and the diseases they sometimes carry can be as simple as dumping standing water on private property. However, not everyone is aware that standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes — and some residents are unmotivated to dump the water even if they are aware.

Continue reading Ridgewood Health Department : Be Aware of Standing Water and Mosquitoes that Carry Disease

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Zika-infected mosquitoes lay Zika-infected eggs

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This is the first experimental proof that mosquitoes can transmit Zika to their own offspring

By Rachel Becker

on August 29, 2016 05:01 pm

Mosquito moms can transmit zika virus to their offspring — at least in the lab, a new study shows. If this also happens in nature, the virus might be able to survive in tough mosquito eggs even when cold weather, dry spells, and pesticides kill off the infectious adults.

Mosquitoes can transmit viruses in the same family as Zika, such as yellow fever and dengue, to their offspring — but it wasn’t clear whether this was also true for Zika. So scientists led by Robert Tesh, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, injected Zika virus into approximately 200 females from two different species of mosquitoes: Aedes aegypti, and Aedes albopictus. None of the A. albopictus offspring tested positive for the virus, but about one in every 290 A. aegypti offspring were infected. They published these results today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/29/12694218/zika-mosquito-eggs-transmission-offspring-spread

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As diseases proliferate, mosquitoes becoming Public Enemy No. 1

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Liz Szabo, USA TODAY8:24 a.m. EST January 14, 2016

As diseases go, Zika virus was always considered minor league.

It didn’t make people all that sick; most infected people had no symptoms at all. Zika was confined to a relatively narrow belt that ran from equatorial Africa to Asia.

Today, Zika has spread to Central and South America and is linked to an alarming increase in once-rare birth defects in Brazil. Although Zika was first diagnosed in Brazil in May, it’s been linked to more than 3,500 cases of microcephaly, in which infants are born with small heads and immature brain development.

Yet Brazil isn’t just fighting Zika.

That country is also combating outbreaks caused by dengue and chikungunya viruses, which are known for causing fevers and debilitating joint pain. Dengue can be fatal.

The USA needs to prepare for a similar scenario, in which epidemics of multiple mosquito-borne diseases break out simultaneously, according to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who co-wrote a new report in The New England Journal of Medicine.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/13/diseases-proliferate-mosquitoes-becoming-public-enemy-no-1/78755284/

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Bergen County Mosquito Control officials unleash larvae-eating Gambusia fish in battle against mosquitoes

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April 28,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog ,Bergen County Mosquito Control and County Executive James Tedesco

“This morning, I went with County Public Works and Mosquito Control officials, as well as Freeholder Tom Sullivan, to release Gambusia fish into a marshy area known for mosquito breeding. These fish eat mosquito larvae and help reduce the mosquito population in our county.” County Executive James Tedesco

Ridgewood NJ, Bergen County Mosquito Control Program is based on a system of  “Integrated Pest Management” consisting of surveillance source reduction, water management, and biological and chemical control.

Mosquito Control in Bergen County is an ongoing, year round program.

In early spring, the surveillance and application program begins. Surveillance entails looking for larvae and applying materials to prevent hatching. After the pre-season is completed, a regularly scheduled inspection and control program begins in the eleven districts covering the 70 municipalities.

Nearly 4000 specific breeding sites are routinely inspected and larvae is collected and identified. If mosquito larvae is found, Bacillus Thuringiensis (BTI) is applied. BTI is a selected larvicide which affects mosquito and black fly larvae and causes no harm to :

Animals
Beneficial insects
Birds
Humans
Marine life
Pets
Vegetation
Wildlife

During the warmer months, mosquito breeding habitats are stocked with Gambusia, a small fish with a hearty appetite for mosquito larvae. During this time a variety of traps are installed county-wide to monitor the adult mosquito population.

Adulticiding to control the adult population is only done when necessary, from a truck or hand held unit, not by helicopter, in response to adult mosquito surveillance and identification.

The NJ State Mosquito Control Commission funds a Biological Control Program which uses five species of mosquito-eating fish which are raised at the DEP’s Division of Fish, and Wildlife’s Charles O. Hayford Hatchery in Hackettstown.

These fish are distributed at no charge to county mosquito control agencies. Where practical, these fish control mosquito populations and reduce the need for pesticides.

During the winter months, hand labor and heavy equipment is used to clear and desilt ditches, streams and ponds to allow for free movement of water. Tide-gates and dikes are inspected and repaired to prevent flooding of low-lying areas and water in ditches and brooks are lowered to minimize mosquito breeding.

MOSQUITO PREVENTION TIPS
Bergen County Executive James Tedesco Encourages Residents to Take Simple Precautions

It’s time to take important steps to protect yourself and your family against West Nile Virus (WNV) infection and mosquito annoyance in general.

WNV is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, so it’s important to take steps to prevent getting mosquito bites and to clean or remove items on your property that can serve as mosquito breeding grounds.

Individuals can take a number of measures around the home to help eliminate mosquito-breeding areas, including:

• Dispose of cans, buckets, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar containers that hold water on your property.
• Properly dispose of discarded tires that can collect water. Stagnant water is where most mosquitoes breed.
• Drill drainage holes in the bottom of outdoor recycling containers.
• Clean clogged roof gutters every year, particularly if the leaves from surrounding trees tend to plug drains.
• Turn over plastic wading pools when not in use.
• Turn over wheelbarrows and don’t let water stagnate in birdbaths.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools not in use and remove any water that may collect on pool covers.

For stagnant pools of water, homeowners can buy Bti products at lawn and garden, outdoor supply, home improvement and other stores. This naturally occurring bacteria kills mosquito larva, but is safe for people, pets, aquatic life and plants.

Additionally, these simple precautions can prevent mosquito bites, particularly for people who are most at risk:

• Make sure screens fit tightly over doors and windows to keep mosquitoes out of homes.

• Consider wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks when outdoors, particularly when mosquitoes are most active at dawn and dusk, or in areas known for having large numbers of mosquitoes.

• When possible, reduce outdoor exposure at dawn and dusk during peak mosquito periods, usually April through October.

• Use insect repellants according to the manufacturer’s instructions. An effective repellant will contain DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Consult with a pediatrician or family physician if you have questions about the use of repellent on children, as repellant is not recommended for children under the age of two months.

WNV is an arboviral disease which people can acquire through the bite of a mosquito that has fed on an infected bird. WNV is not directly transmitted from birds to humans. About one in 150 persons, or less than 1 percent of those infected with West Nile virus will develop a more severe form of the disease. Symptoms of more serious illness include severe headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness and paralysis.

The elderly are at higher risk of more severe disease. Bergen County’s WNV surveillance, control, and prevention activities involve the coordinated efforts of a number of federal, state and local agencies. These include DHSS, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the State Mosquito Control Commission, the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology, local and Bergen County Health Departments, and of course our Bergen County Department of Public Works Division of Mosquito Control.

For more information about mosquito control in Bergen County,
call the Health Hotline: 201-225-7000 or visit the website:https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/index.aspx?nid=325

To contact the Bergen County Division of Mosquito Control about a mosquito problem, call 201-634-2880.

https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/index.aspx?NID=497