Tiger Mosquitoes in NJ: New 24-7 Predator More Likely to Carry West Nile (VIDEO)
New Jersey residents have been cautioned about a new mosquito in town. Unlike other mosquitoes native to the area, the new Asian mosquito is aggressive and will feast at any time.
Fierce Asian Tiger mosquitoes are beginning to infest the New Jersey area according to mosquito control officers. The black and white striped predator is different than what most New Jersey residents have come to expect from a blood-sucking insect. Sometimes jokingly referred to as the "State Bird," the common brown mosquitoes formed regular patterns, typically only biting around dusk.
But the Asian Tiger mosquito is a breed of its own. More aggressive than the pesky "State Birds," these mosquitoes will feed at anytime and often, during short spurts of time according to experts.
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"The Asian tiger mosquito is an extremely aggressive insect that has largely supplanted japonicus since 2008, especially in urban and suburban areas," Eric Green, the mosquito control officer for Passaic County, told The Record
The Asian tiger mosquito could be "a more efficient disease vector, especially for West Nile virus," he said, because "it bites in daytime and could put more people at risk." Making the predator even peskier is the effort it takes to get rid of them. Neighbors have been advised to be more neighborly in order to get to the source of the problem.
"Water left standing for more than five days is an open invitation," Warren Staudinger, the assistant chief inspector in Bergen County, told the Associated Press. "If everyone could be a good neighbor, and if there's an elderly person who physically can't turn over a trash can filled with water, offer to do it for them."
Other things to look out for are abandoned houses with pools, abandoned kiddies pools, and just about anything else that can collect water. Even a small water bottle cap is enough, according to the AP, for a brood of mosquitoes to hatch. One "clogged gutter" could mean "misery" for a entire neighborhood. But the larvae, without water, will die.
