It’s not just hot outside: You also have to worry about mosquitoes

As the summer heat drones on, so too does the ever-present buzz of blood-seeking mosquitoes any time you take a step outside.

Whether you’re a mosquito magnet or not, avoiding bites is imperative because these bugs can cause a lot more harm than your basic itchy welt.

Mosquitoes carry viruses that can cause series illness or death, including Zika, the West Nile virus and malaria.

In Alabama, the Alabama Department of Public Health is warning residents of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or EEE. It’s a rare disease, but two cases in humans were reported in Baldwin County over the past few weeks. One of those wound up fatal.

There’s no vaccine and no specific treatment for EEE, so prevention is a must.

The worst time for mosquitoes is at dawn and dusk, but if you’re heading outdoors regularly no hour is safe.

Here’s how you can save yourself from becoming a bug’s snack:

• Use insect repellents or treat clothes with an insect repellent
• Wear long sleeves, long pants and loose-fitting, light-colored clothes
• Keep screens on windows and doors to prevent mosquitoes from infiltrating your home

And if you want to make your environment inhospitable for mosquitoes, here’s how:

• Empty and scrub, turn over, cover or throw out any items that hold water
  • Think tires, buckets, planters, toys, pools, birdbaths or trash containers
• Tightly cover buckets, cisterns and rain barrels
• Use a larvicide or animal-safe “mosquito dunk” in larger bodies of water that cannot be covered or dumped out

Interested in learning more? You can find out more info on mosquito bite prevention through the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention right here.