Arthropods and Disease Transmission 357 



Understanding the breeding habits of mosquitoes has made 

 effective control of these insects possible. Aedes aegijpti is domes- 

 ticated and breeds in tin cans, water buckets, shallow pools, etc., 

 and it is usually more easily controlled than are the Anopheles 

 species which breed in almost any water, whether it be shallow or 

 deep, fast-moving or sluggish. Draining of swamps, oiling, and 

 dusting likely breeding sites can materially reduce mosquito pop- 

 ulations, as has been demonstrated so amply in such areas as the 

 Panama Canal Zone. 



Fly control principally involves proper disposal of wastes— a 

 sanitary problem. While screening, spraying, and swatting the 

 adult flies helps to control their numbers to some extent, these at- 

 tacks on the adults are not nearly as effective as is the destruction 

 of their breeding grounds. 



Bed bugs are best removed by fumigation with hydrogen cy- 

 anide, by spraying with insecticides or aerosol bombs; heat applied 

 directly to the springs and bedsteads may also be employed. 



Head and body lice can be controlled by strict attention to body 

 cleanliness. DDT and other compounds are effective in destroying 

 lice once they have become established on the body. 



