“Last year, we couldn’t go out on the terrace.”

It has become the nightmare of our summers: the tiger mosquito. It is present in our region and has been spotted in certain districts of Poitiers. So, the municipality launched a vast awareness campaign among residents in liaison with the Regional Health Agency.

There are worse things than a simple mosquito to disturb our summer evenings, and that is the tiger mosquito. It is present in our region, does not make noise and is likely to transmit diseases. Hence the awareness campaign launched by the Poitevin municipality to try to limit the nuisances of the insect. Sylviane lives in the Montmidi district west of Poitiers and the tiger mosquito has become its worst enemy : “We got eaten up so much, last year, we couldn’t go out on the terrace during the day.”

This year, she took every precaution by protecting the water points in her garden, where the insect likes to develop.

These measures are important, but not necessarily sufficient since a tiger mosquito flies and this species operates during the day, without noise and especially within a radius of 150 meters.

The goal is to eliminate as many larval breeding sites as possible to reduce the number of tiger mosquitoes.

Kamille Champeil

Health and environment technician at Poitiers town hall

The tiger mosquito can transmit serious diseases. This is why the municipality of Poitiers, in conjunction with the Regional Health Agency, goes door to door in neighborhoods to raise awareness among residents. Kamille Champeilhealth and environment technician at Poitiers town hall, explains the approach to us : “The goal is to eliminate as many larval breeding sites as possible to reduce the quantity of tiger mosquitoes in Poitiers because the tiger mosquito can transmit diseases..”

And these diseases are chikungunya, zika and even dengue. So, Poitevine technicians provide some advice to residents at home : put sand at the bottom of a gutter to avoid stagnant water for example or empty the plant cups at least once a week. The Regional Health Agency which collaborates in this campaign offers additional information on its website.

And if, despite all this, the tiger mosquito invites itself into your summer evenings, you can take out the fan. With the air current, the insect should sting a little further…