Should we be afraid of the tiger mosquito?

This summer, mosquitoes fly in squadron! Like every summer? The French, they feel more harbaded than in previous years. In fact, the rainy periods in the spring followed by hot weather throughout the metropolis have been very conducive to culicidae. But, in fact, in a majority of regions, mosquito monitoring companies have not noticed any noticeable increase in their populations, particularly in the entire Mediterranean littoral region or the Rhône-Alpes region.

The so-called "common" mosquitoes, named aedes detritus and aedes caspius "are therefore not more numerous this year," according to an employee of the Interdepartmental Anti-departmental Mosquito Control Agreement ( EID) Rhône-Alpes. The tiger mosquito, on the other hand, "continues its dispersion in France, and this, whatever the region," she confirms. But nothing to panic: the idea that it would represent a real threat summer is overestimated. To twist the neck to this received idea, here are some truths about this exotic species.

The opportunistic mosquito

"The mosquito-tiger flies very poorly on its own, and it is really very small," says Jean-Claude Mouret, entomologist at EID Mediterranean. As a result, he can not travel long distances, "on his own he can travel 150 meters, no more". Its low capacity to be transported therefore reduces the number of humans it could sting.

But, then, how did it do to disperse throughout the metropolitan territory? Simply as a stowaway: "This kind of mosquito is very opportunistic", explains the EID Rhône-Alpes. "It is very easily encrusted in the means of transport of the man. It is therefore a mosquito that has managed to be divided by a pbadive transport, "says the entomologist of EID Mediterranean.

The tiger mosquito finds many opportunities to develop in gardens. "He will find a water point, he will settle, and then lay many generations. It is not the climate that will influence its spread, but more the practices of humans, "says the EID Rhône-Alpes. The water points he loves are mostly in small containers that can be abandoned daily: open jars with a bottom of water, objects left in the rain for the dump, children's toys, buckets, watering cans, Empty flowerpots … The pools do not represent a home for them, if the engines are running well.

Avoiding the proliferation of these mosquitoes in its environment is therefore simple: "It must be prevented to have any container in which he could grow. […] We can cover the containers with fine cloths, insect cloths to prevent females from coming to lay in their containers, well cover all water tanks, "says the EID Rhône-Alpes. Getting rid of bulky items that can hold water or storing hollow tools dry is also an effective preventive gesture.

Few mosquito-tigers are infected or dangerous

Finally, the tiger mosquito has minimal risks of being infected with a virus. For this, the mosquito must have stung an individual returning from a country where one of the dengue, chikungunya or Zika viruses circulates freely and carries one of these viruses. "It happens very rarely," says entomologist Jean-Claude Mouret. This does not dispense prevention and cleaning actions to stop its spread.