Present in Gironde since 2004, the tiger mosquito is increasingly present in Bordeaux and in the department, adapting very well to the urban environment.
Le Figaro Bordeaux
For ten years, he has been gradually settling in the country. The tiger mosquito, native to Southeast Asia, is now well established in New Aquitaine, and mainly in two departments, Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne. With it, the risk of spreading diseases, arboviruses such as dengue fever, Zika or the West Nile virus, is very present. In this month of October, the first autochthonous case of one of these diseases was detected in the Landes, and could spread. Analyzes are underway to determine precisely what disease it is.
The risk of spreading these diseases is linked to the tiger mosquito, says Baptiste Groff, indoor environment and health manager at the Gironde delegation of the regional health agency. For a person to be infected with an arbovirus, a traveler from an endemic area must first be bitten. Once the virus has been digested by the tiger mosquito, it can then infect other people. This is what happened in the Landes. A scenario that could be repeated.
«All the conditions are met for the situation to worsen“warns Baptiste Groff. “From year to year the tiger mosquito is gaining ground towards the north,» with a season that runs from the beginning of May to the end of November. “Hoping we have a winter“says the engineer. “The future will be made with these diseases in metropolitan France and in Europe“Warns Doctor Marie-Claire Paty, of Public Health France.
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Less mobile than the common mosquito, which can travel about twenty kilometres, the tiger mosquito does not move more than 150 meters from the place where it was born. The one who stings you was therefore born very close to where you are. It is mainly artificial receptacles with standing water, such as plant pots, that allow the species to reproduce quickly. “Even in a thimble he can lay a litter of mosquitoes“recalls Baptiste Groff. More than a hundred eggs can be laid at once by a female. As soon as the water rises and extends over a spawning area, a new proliferation is therefore to be feared.
Remove spaces where water stagnates
Smaller, diurnal and less mobile than the native mosquito, the tiger mosquito does not interest the usual predators of the species, bats, frogs and dragonflies. Once installed, it is therefore difficult to dislodge it. “We know we can’t eradicate his presence“warns Baptiste Groff. The only solution to stem its proliferation is based on good individual reflexes.
The ARS encourages in particular to control rainwater collectors, because even if they are equipped with a cover, mosquitoes can enter and exit through the gutter to reproduce there. It is also strongly recommended to eliminate all places where water can stagnate. Putting sand in the saucers of pots, for example, allows the plant to continue to draw water but prevents the mosquito from laying eggs there. Water reservoirs (cans, cisterns, basins and swimming pools not in use) must also be covered.