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Eggs. 
When mosquitoes become abundant in and about the 
home, the questions most often asked are: Where do 
they come from? What can we do about them? 
Mosquitoes usually breed in standing water—dirty or 
clean, salt or fresh. The eggs cannot hatch unless they 
are laid on water or on places that later become flooded ; 
the larvae (wigglers) cannot develop unless they have 
water to live in. 
More than 100 kinds of mosquitoes occur in the United 
States. The most troublesome kinds come from the 
following habitats: Temporary rain pools, flooded areas, 
irrigated pastures, salt marshes, and places around the 
home where water collects such as tin cans, rain gutters, 
and ponds.* 
If mosquitoes are a problem where you live, the first. 
thing to do is to find and eliminate their breeding places. 
Additional control measures consist in killing the larvae 
and adults with an insecticide. 
A repellent applied to the skin or clothing protects 
you from mosquito bites for several hours. 
ELIMINATE BREEDING PLACES 
Look for standing water on your property and elimi- 
nate it wherever possible. 
@ Remove all temporary water containers. 
® Flatten or dispose of tin cans. 
® Place discarded bicycle and automobile tires in places 
where water cannot get into them. 
@ Fill in tree holes with concrete. 
® See that cesspools, septic tanks, rain barrels, and tubs 
in which water is stored are tightly covered. 
@® Empty and thoroughly wash birdbaths and pans for 
watering chicks at least once a week. 
® Clean out rain gutters. 
@ Examine flat roofs after rains; be sure no water 
remains on them. 
® Drain or fill in stagnant pools and swampy places. If 
pools cannot be drained or filled in, remove debris and 
floating vegetation. 
* Following are the scientific names of some of the kinds that 
breed in these habitats: Temporary rain pools: Aedes atlanticus, 
A. vexans, A. infirmatus, A. canadensis, Psorophora confinnis. 
Flooded areas: A. sticticus, A. vexans, A. dorsalis. Irrigated 
pastures: A. nigromaculis, A. dorsalis, Culex tarsalis. Salt 
marshes: A. sollicitans, A. taeniorhynchus, A. squamiger. 
Standing water around homes: A. aegypti, C. quinquefasciatus, 
C. pipiens. 
Larva, or wiggler. 
KILL THE LARVAE 
If you have standing water on your property that 
cannot be eliminated, find out whether it contains 
wigglers. Dip out some water with a can or cup. 
Examine it carefully. If it contains wigglers, apply one 
of the following insecticide sprays to the entire water 
surface at the rate indicated: 
@ |-percent emulsion or oil solution of DDT, chlordane, 
toxaphene, TDE, or methoxychlor, or 2-percent emulsion 
or oil solution of malathion; 1 ounce per 100 square feet, 
or about 10 quarts per acre of water surface. 
@ 0.5-percent emulsion or oil solution of gamma isomer 
of BHC (lindane), dieldrin, or heptachlor; about 10 
quarts per acre. 
The table (right) tells you how to prepare sprays. 
Use a small power sprayer to treat large areas of water 
surface; use a compressed-air sprayer, or a knapsack, 
garden, or hand sprayer to treat small areas. Adjust the 
nozzle for a fine mist spray. Repeat treatment as needed, 
or at weekly intervals. 
Sometimes it may be easier to dust the water surface. 
Obtain a ready-mixed 5- or 10-percent DDT dust, and 
apply it at the rate of 2 to 5 pounds of the mixed dust per 
acre of water surface. 
You can also kill larvae by spreading kerosene, fuel oil, 
or diesel oil on the water. If there is no vegetation, apply 
at the rate of 2 to 4 ounces of oil per 100 square feet of 
water surface, or 7 to 14 gallons per acre. If the area is 
Partially vegetated, apply oil at the rate of about 9 
ounces per 100 square feet of water surface, or 30 gallons 
per acre. Oil is usually not effective on heavily vegetated 
areas; on these, use insecticide sprays. 
The control of Jarvae in fishponds, ornamental pools, 
and low, swampy places requires special attention. Fol- 
lowing are recommendations for treating such places. 
Fishponds and ornamental pools.—To kill mos- 
quito larvae without poisoning fish and plants, spray a 
very light mist of a pyrethrum oil solution. Pyrethrum 
is available ready for use from insecticide dealers. 
Note: Do not apply more than | ounce of spray per 100 
square feet of water surface. 
Low, swampy areas.—Mosquitoes often lay eggs in 
low, swampy areas and on moist soil or duff. If these 
areas are flooded with rain or snow water, the eggs hatch. 
Spray such areas with a 5-percent DDT emulsion or 
oil solution before they become flooded. Apply it at the 
rate of 2 to 5 gallons per acre. Repeat treatment in 
the late fall and early spring. 
KILL THE ADULTS 
Destroying mosquito larvae reduces the number of 
mosquitoes about your property, but it may not solve 
your entire problem. You may be attacked by mos- 
quitoes from breeding places on neighboring property 
or from marsh areas, irrigated pastures, ricefields, or 
irrigation canals some distance away. 
If mosquitoes fly in from such places, you can gain 
temporary relief by killing them with insecticide sprays. 
