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Elderly Care Safety: Guarding Your Health During National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

Elderly Care in Knightdale, NC

Elderly Woman Gardening The summer is a fantastic time to make your elderly care efforts more interesting by heading outside and enjoying baseball games, lounging by the pool, evening fires, and cookouts with your aging parents. Unfortunately, these summertime festivities can quickly be ruined by unwanted guests such as mosquitoes. Where you gather, these pests may gather, seeking out their next meal. In addition to causing painful bites that lead to uncomfortable itching and the risk for serious infection when you scratch, mosquitoes can carry diseases including West Nile virus. Keeping mosquitoes at bay and controlling the growth of their population is an important way to enjoy all the summer has to offer while staying safe, comfortable, and healthy.

June 21 through 27 is National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, the perfect chance for you to learn more about discouraging mosquitoes from living and breeding near your home and protecting your health as you head out for some summer fun.

Use these tips to protect yourself, your elderly parents, and their referred caregiver from mosquitoes during the summer months:

  • Eliminate watery areas. Keeping mosquitoes at bay starts with preventing new generations. Adult mosquitos prefer to lay their eggs in still or slow moving water, but will also lay in areas where water will develop, including moist soil or accumulations of brush and leaves. Be sure to dump out untreated pools, buckets, tubs, and other containers that fill with water, and eliminate leaves and other debris from your yard to ward off breeding populations.
  • Practice pool health. Even if it is not in regular use, if you have a swimming pool that always has water in it, it is essential to keep it clean and properly chlorinated at all times to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water and to keep adult populations from gathering near the water.
  • Keep the gutters clean. Gutters are highly desirable breeding grounds for mosquitoes if not cleaned properly. Make sure to remove all debris several times per year and ensure the gutters themselves as well as the downspouts are in good working order to prevent pooling water that may attract breeding mosquitoes.
  • Keep the lawn neat. Adult mosquitoes are most active very early in the morning and in the evening. During the daylight hours they rest and their preferred resting spot is on tall grasses and weeds. Keep your lawn neat and well-cut to make it less desirable for adult mosquitoes looking for a welcoming landing area.
  • Use “bug” lights. Many bugs are drawn to light, including mosquitoes. Replace all outdoor lights with yellow bulbs that emit a light that is less attractive to bugs and will reduce the number around your home in the evening.
  • Welcome predators. If you have an ornamental pond in your lawn, add mosquito-eating fish such as koi. Hang a bird feeder to welcome birds that will also snack on adult mosquitoes that visit your lawn.
  • Protect yourself. Before you head outside during the evening hours, apply insect repellent to all exposed skin and clothing. If you are concerned about the chemicals in pesticides soaking through your seniors’ thinner skin, use a product with botanical ingredients. When you plan on spending long periods of time outside, place citronella candles around the area. Consider treating your home with a product containing permethrin, which repels both mosquitoes and ticks.

The articles posted on this blog are provided for general information and discussion purposes only.  These articles are not intended to suggest anything with respect to the operations or services of this office.

If you or an aging loved one are considering non-medical in-home care in Raleigh, NC, call Griswold Home Care and speak to one of our caring staff members today. Call (919) 229-8944

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