According to WHO, dengue has been on the rise with over 390 million cases of dengue infection worldwide. Dengue is caused by the bite of the Aedes mosquito. So, the first step in protecting yourself and your family against dengue is to keep the mosquitoes at bay.
Here are 5 must dos to help you safeguard your family from the dengue-spreading mosquitoes.
Eliminate stagnant water
Dengue and chikungunya mosquitoes prefer to breed in clean standing water that is easily available in and around your house; so, the first step is to ensure we eliminate as many open water accumulating sources as possible. Anytime, your kids play in the open area of your building complex or a neighborhood park, notice if there any places like kiddie pools, fountains, bird baths that hold water. If so, ensure that the bird baths are cleaned every three days. If you have an inflatable kiddie pool in your yard, make sure to discard the water from it after every swim and place it upside down so that the water doesn’t accumulate in it.
Keep an eye out for open water storage vessels and containers at home and ensure that any flower pot plates, vases, AC trays and fridge trays are covered and be sure to discard water from them once in every 3 days.Check out more dengue mosquitoes breeding sites here.
Ensure regular fogging
Mostly all residential complexes carry out regular fogging in and around the residential area. If it is not happening in your society, please ensure that your society’s committee adopts a system for regular fogging in their next agenda. You can even contact your local municipality for a regular inspection to check the breeding of the dengue larvae in your society, they can also help you implant a practice for periodic fogging as well.
Dress to protect
Choose to wear long-sleeved clothes, so, less surface area is exposed to the mosquitoes. As mosquitoes can bite through tight synthetic clothing, be sure to dress your kids in comfortable clothing that is not body hugging.
Use outdoor personal mosquito repellents
When your kids step outdoors, ensure that they apply outdoor mosquito repellents or personal repellents. These repellents are available in many forms like creams, oils, Patches, Gels and the newly introduced Fabric Roll-On.
Go for the Goodknight Fabric Roll-On which is made from pure citronella and eucalyptus oil. With just 4 dots on your clothes, it offers 100% natural protection. You can even try the Goodknight Patches which can be applied to your baby’s clothes and offers up to 8 hours of protection.
Include mosquito repelling plants in your garden
Some plants like lemon grass are known for their mosquito repelling properties, these plants also act as beautiful ornamental plants for your garden parties and require very low maintenance. You can plant these in your garden, though they won’t help during the high mosquito infestation period, they will surely keep mosquitoes at bay up to an extent.
The other plants that have mosquito repelling properties are citronella, basil, catnip. When it comes to dengue, small steps can go a long way. Ensure your kid’s safety and read up on What Are Some Of The telling Signs Of Dengue? And Here’s How You Can shield Yourself!
