We have been having rain and even a big wind storm shortly after April Fools day. Is it possible that Mother Nature is getting a trifle cantankerous and making her jokes slow? Rain is desirable after that long hot and dry spell we had in 2011.
Rain means water in the ditches. Water in the ditches leads to mosquitoes in the air. And that leads to bites. This sort of thing has been a rather troublesome occurrence here in the Coastal Area. They tell us the Karankawa Indians smeared alligator grease on their bodies to help ward off the mosquitoes. Now we have “Off” to spray or rub on and it is a little less obnoxious than the A grease.
Here in coastal Texas, especially in the 1800s, we had quite a bit of trouble with Yellow fever. That is a very dangerous disease. The fatality rate is on the order of 85%. There are many stories about Yellow fever death among the good folks who landed at Indianola and even some about folks who lived here in Calhoun County. Then in 1867 there was a real Yellow fever epidemic. While we don’t have official records It is thought that several thousand folks along the Coast from Galveston to Corpus died in that one.
In those days they thought it might be caused by the air particle from stagnant water in the ditches and the swamps. They almost had it right; however, the real cause was not established until the United States began to build the Panama Canal. Dr. Walter Reed during that time proved the Cuban Dr. Finlay’s hypothesis that the real cause was Mosquitoes. When they controlled the mosquito the canal that the French had given up on was finished.
Yellow fever isn’t the only thing mosquitoes can cause. They do a lot of harm with causing Malaria, and Dengue fever killing millions around the world… It is easy to agree with those who say that they are the most dangerous animal on earth.
They do serve as the bottom of the food chain. The Larvae are good food for fish. Once the rascals get born they can be food for birds and bats and dragon fly nymphs. We should all encourage those to eat more.
One of the most effective methods is to remove any source of stagnant water. This could be from ditches (those folks in 1899 were on the right track) old tires laying around and any other source of stagnant water. With constant control we, here in the US, have pretty much eliminated the epidemics of Yellow fever. A vaccine was developed in the 1920’s. There are still over 400 places in the state of Texas where you can get Yellow Fever vaccine.
Out of sight is not out of mind where those devil mosquitoes come in. So every time you slap and kill one it is OK to say ‘another blow for good health”.
