Expert warns of Asian tiger mosquito invasion for summer

ISTANBUL

Reminding the oak lace bug invasion in Istanbul’s Sultangazi district in the summer of 2021, a Turkish professor has made a warning to residents of the Marmara, Aegean and Black Sea regions against an Asian tiger mosquito invasions for this summer.

“Citizens should be conscious about these mosquitos that hold a risk of Zika virus,” Hüseyin Çetin, a professor from the Akdeniz University’s Biology Department, told daily Milliyet on March 2.

According to the expert, the Asian tiger mosquitos make thousands sick in tropical regions across the world. “At the moment, there is no infection due to these mosquitos. Municipalities work hard to disinfect areas, but people should be aware too,” he said.

Çetin especially warned people who own summerhouses.

“People do not visit their summerhouses for months. Let’s say that they forgot a pail or a bucket at their summerhouse’s garden. They will be full of rainwater or snow during the winter season. This is how mosquitos emerge and reproduce,” he said.

“A pail of water, an ornamental pool, or a forgotten car tire in a garden is an open invitation to flies and bugs,” he added.

Water pans for dogs and cats are another cause of these mosquitos’ reproduction.

“The water filled in a pan and not renewed in time turns to a mosquito center in 10 days,” he warned.

When asked about the characteristics of the Asian tiger mosquitos, the expert pointed out a “midday danger.”

“These mosquitoes are daytime biters. They are aggressive and harassers. Normally mosquitoes bite people at nights, but this species attack at midday before sunset,” he said.

Making another warning about Stomoxys, which are often confused with house flies, Çetin said: “These types of flies differ from normal ones as they are blood-sucking insects like mosquitos. People should be cautious as this species are disease carriers.”

When asked about some bug invasions in Istanbul in the last decade, Çetin said, “Very normal.”

“Thing happen in nature. Once in a couple of years, the population of some species increases and then decreases. But if this happens often, then we should take precautions,” he stated.

“You may see the rise in the grasshopper population once in seven years. But if it happens once a year or two, then comes the problem,” he added.