With the arrival of summer, mosquitoes are also out. Between rain, storm and intense heat, all the weather conditions are there to encourage the proliferation of these undesirable biters.
Mosquito alert. After several episodes of rain and storms, this week, summer temperatures have finally arrived. This joy, however, is short-lived, since the mosquitoes are also making a comeback, particularly enjoying the fluctuations in our weather.
“Mosquitoes? A real nightmare. I have spots everywhere, it itches. It’s really a disaster,” complains a resident of Saint-Orens-de-Gameville to BFMTV.
“There are no aperitifs, no evenings, it’s indoors and that’s it. We regret having a garden in the summer a little,” laments another resident.
Weather favorable to mosquitoes
But how can we explain this proliferation of mosquitoes? For Grégory L’ambert, medical entomologist at EID-Médiannée, the weather cocktail of the last few days favors the presence of these insects.
“Water, humidity, high temperatures… Really the optimal conditions to allow the proliferation of mosquito species,” says Grégory L’ambert.
This week alone, the temperature reached 30°C, although accompanied by storms on certain days, particularly in the South-East. Thursday should be the hottest day of the week in France, with high minimums for the season, according to Météo-France, but still with disturbances in the south.
What is important to remember for the entomologist is that the “mosquito can multiply 400-fold in four weeks”. It is therefore essential “to limit their development from now on”, he warns.
The bat, a solution?
In order to fight against the proliferation of mosquitoes, the town of Saint-Orens-de-Gameville in Haute-Garonne has decided to call on a strange ally: the bat. Their mosquito hunting is a considerable asset for the municipality, naturally reducing the populations of these unwanted biters.
“It will ingest more than 3,000 mosquitoes in one night. This is why we want to encourage its installation in the town by offering it bat roosts,” explains Agnès Mestre, deputy mayor in charge of environment in Saint-Orens-de-Gameville.
Installing a bat nest box allows the animal to be placed in an urban environment and to actively fight against the mosquito without the use of insecticide. In France, bats have been fully protected since a ministerial decree in 1981. Certain species appear on the red list of threatened fauna in France and 13 species are present on the IUCN red list.
In terms of prevention, the Ministry of Health recommends that residents do not encourage the development of larvae by avoiding leaving stagnant water such as the bottom of pots, waste, gutters, etc.
