2023-07-28 15:03:11
The evenings in the garden or on the terrace, where we dined peacefully without bites, are forgotten… In Lot-et-Garonne, everyone – or almost – has learned to live in the company of the tiger mosquito, alongside repellent lotions and other smoke streamers supposed to scare away the insect.
Weary for mosquito-phobes, this summer of 2023 has all the qualities required for the invasive species to develop and proliferate. Internet users assure him: “In Marmande, this year, there are many more of them and yet…
The evenings in the garden or on the terrace, where we dined peacefully without bites, are forgotten… In Lot-et-Garonne, everyone – or almost – has learned to live in the company of the tiger mosquito, alongside repellent lotions and other smoke streamers supposed to scare away the insect.
Weary for mosquito-phobes, this summer of 2023 has all the qualities required for the invasive species to develop and proliferate. Internet users assure him: “In Marmande, this year, there are many more of them and yet I find that many users are careful not to leave stagnant waters. This morning, at 8:30 a.m. in the educational garden, we were invaded, ”wrote Francine Chevé on our Facebook page, this Friday, July 28.
Because this summer, the climatic conditions are more than favorable for its reproduction. “There is an alternation of hot episodes and rainy episodes. In this context, the lodges have no difficulty in developing, ”says Delphine Binet, agency manager of the Altopictus company, which monitors the evolution of the tiny invader all year round in the department.
It just takes a little
July and August 2022 had been calmer, due to lack of water. “But when it rained in September, we saw an explosion of populations. All the eggs laid have hatched…” According to Altopictus, these eggs can wait several months. All it takes is a bit of humidity to wake them up.
Faced with the proliferation of this insect, a potential disease vector, the Regional Health Agency asked Altopictus to monitor several so-called “sensitive” sites in Lot-et-Garonne (1). “The ARS targets areas of interest, large passages or passages of sick people. Hospitals, but also sites that present risks of importing eggs such as the MIN, where there is a lot of merchandise. Because this lover of soft, sugary skin is content with very little: a cup of flowers on which he can lay his eggs, the passenger compartment of a vehicle in which he carpools clandestinely, and from which he emerges from the first door opened. “This is how the insect develops its implantation…”
Under close surveillance
Thus, a network of 27 nesting traps was deployed by the operator during the active season in Lot-et-Garonne, from May to November (see below). “All the traps are identified and appraised once a month until they are removed,” says Delphine Binet. From Walygator via the MIN of Agen, hospitals or even Center Parcs, the pitfalls are always the same. And there is nothing rocket science. “We put black buckets with a capacity of 3 liters around the sites. We fill them with water and larvicide; so as not to prevent egg laying, but the development of the larva. We put a piece of polystyrene that will float on the water, on which the females lay eggs, and then we analyze it in the laboratory. »
Unsurprisingly, and since the beginning of May, eggs have been taken at each sample from the 27 traps placed in the four corners of the department. According to Delphine Binet, “we consider that all the municipalities of Lot-et-Garonne are colonized. Even those that are not yet officially declared as such. »
(1) The MIN from Agen to Boé (three traps); the Marmande Hospital Center, the Lot Valley Health Center in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, the Agen-Nérac Hospital Center in Agen, the Esquirol-Saint-Hilaire Clinic in Agen-Boé (three traps per site); four tourist sites: the Walygator amusement park in Roquefort, the thermal baths of Casteljaloux, the Bonaguil castle in Saint-Front-sur-Lémance and Center Parcs in the towns of Pindères and Beauziac (three traps each)
No miracle solution
Faced with the tiger mosquito, there is still no miracle solution. But an option known to all makes it possible to avoid its proliferation: “You must avoid any container that will keep water in order to eliminate any breeding ground”, indicates Delphine Binet. “Similarly, in the case of an outdoor container (for a pet, for example), the water must be spilled at least once a week so that, once on the ground, the larva dies and n not reach the adult stage. » As for swimming pools, fed up, and other waterways, stop misconceptions. “A mosquito only reproduces in a container of less than 10 liters… The Garonne, for example, can host adult populations, but it will not encourage the reproduction of populations. »
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