402 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



Remedies directed against water stages. Two kinds of 

 remedies may be employed : first, the preventive, whose 

 purpose is to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, and second, 

 the curative remedies whose purpose is to destroy those 

 mosquitoes that may be breeding. The first remedy is 

 the more important because it is lasting in its. effects, but the 

 second serves as a valuable temporary substitute. 



Preventive remedies. Among the first class of remedies 

 are the following: In large marshes draining by means of 

 ditching is effective. Work of this kind on the salt marshes 

 of California and New Jersey has been carried on over large 

 areas with marked success. Not only has the mosquito 

 nuisance been abated but the value of the land for agricultural 

 purposes has been increased. Some ponds may be drained 

 and small woodland pools may be filled with soil. 



The breeding of mosquitoes in cisterns, tanks, barrels, 

 etc., may be easily prevented by covering them with mos- 

 quito netting or boards. 



Empty cans and bottles that accumulate in yards or dumps 

 should be turned over so that they will not hold water. 

 Better still, these should not be allowed to accumulate. 

 There may be frequent community house-cleanings during 

 which the cans are collected and buried. 



Mosquitoes usually travel only a few hundred yards or 

 rods, so that a community may generally find relief from 

 the mosquito by destroying the breeding places found within 

 the immediate vicinity. But there are a few species which 

 breed on the coast marshes, as in New Jersey, that are borne 

 inland by the wind to a distance of thirty miles or more. 



Curative remedies. Fishes may be introduced into ponds 

 to feed upon the water stages of the mosquito. The swampy 

 margins should be deepened to allow the fishes access to all 

 parts. 



For small pools and ponds kerosene may be applied to 

 surface at the rate of one ounce to fifteen square feet. 



