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West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus and Mosquito Control

by Bill Fintel, Avian Aquatics

Transmitted by mosquitoes, West Nile virus is rapidly spreading across the U.S. The primary recommendation to prevent getting West Nile is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.

Although, even when bitten, the chances of acquiring West Nile are very small, fewer bites certainly lower your risk. Avoiding mosquito bites means staying inside screened-in enclosures, applying mosquito repellents, not going out at dawn or dusk, AND eliminating mosquito breeding places.

Mosquito larvae must live in water. Additionally the water must be stagnant or standing. Ponds and streams that have waves do not host mosquito larvae. Bodies of water in which fish live, also do not host mosquito larvae. In and around a backyard, the following items can hold standing water:

  • - wading pools, old buckets, flower pots, tin cans 
  • partially plugged gutters can be very bad

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  • unattended bird baths can also be a breeding ground

The recommendation for bird baths is to empty and clean them at least once per week (twice per week is better). The water borne phase of the mosquito life cycle is over one week long even under the most optimum conditions.

Another thing you can do is to add a waterfall rock with pump to create waves in the bird bath. In other words convert it from stagnant to moving water. The waves prevent the larval stage of the mosquito from being able to keep it’s air tube above the water surface to breathe.

For ponds, the more water movement the better. All our bird ponds are designed with a sufficiently large pump and waterfall to avoid stagnant water and breeding mosquitoes. For larger ponds with less water movement, fish are your best preventive measure.

Fish eat mosquito larvae. Goldfish are fine. Locally purchased bait minnows (killifish in Delaware) also work very well, and often can more effectively avoid predators, such as cats, raccoons and herons.

Birds can also catch West Nile when bitten by mosquitoes, thus dead birds can be an indication of a local West Nile outbreak. Dead birds should be reported to your local health department. The health department will tell you whether to collect the bird, how to collect it, and to whom to deliver it.

Copyright ©2003 Avian Aquatics Used With Permission