Trituracion De Llantans

1400 K Street, NW • Washington, DC 20005 • tel (202) 682-4800 • fax (202) 682-4854 • www.rma.org

Mosquito Control
Mosquitoes can breed in a wide range of habitats; everything from cemetery urns,to beer bottles to wheelbarrows to tree
holes. One of the major types of mosquitoes in this country today is the Aedes albopictus (AKA the Asian Tiger mosquito).
These mosquitoes are diurnal activeinsects, not native to the United States. Since their introduction into the U.S. in the mid
1980’s, however, they have spread across a large portion of the country. These hardy mosquitoes canwithstand freezing
temperatures, and prefer the stock piled tires as their favorite breeding habitat. Discarded tires, whether they be in a massive
pile or the solitary tire along the road side, present abreeding habitat that can generate a significant number of offspring. The
most significant problem associated with the Asian Tiger mosquito is its ability to carry and transmit arboviruses tomammals.
Aedes albopictus tends to concentrate in the upper portions and in the outer fringes of tire piles, since this is typically where
the most recent rain water has collected. These mosquitoes do nottypically like bright, sunny environments. Mosquitoes
typically will hover at ground level, but prefer to remain in shaded areas. Consequently, removing all sources of shade around
a tire pile canreduce mosquito attacks, as well as reduce the likelihood of another problem associated with stock piled scrap
tires; fires.
Controlling Aedes albopictus
Clearly the first line of defense againstmosquito infestation is to abate tire piles. Another approach would be to keep water
from entering the tire (i.e., covering the pile with a tarp or roof structure). The third, non-chemical approachwould be to
disrupt the mosquitoes life cycle, usually done by moving the tires every 14 days. While these remedies are effective, they
would not be considered realistic when dealing with abandoned...