Mosquito season is upon us

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Laszlo Babocsi
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  It's that time of year again, that's right, mosquito season is upon us and runs through September. Fortunately, the residents of Yokota Air Base have the 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron here to help them deal with these little pests.

Although, the Kanto Plains mosquitoes are no threat, it doesn't hurt to be safe.

374 AMDS Airmen help us by trapping mosquitoes through out the season and sending them off to Camp Zama, where the mosquitoes will be tested at the USA Chippm testing facility located there.

"Normally we catch an average of about 50 good female mosquito specimens," said Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams, 374 AMDS noncommissioned officer in charge of health management. "They are the ones that cultivate the blood to feed their larva,"

Disease testing helps contain the Kanto Plains mosquito diseases to an almost non-existent state.

"Even though diseases carried by mosquitoes here are of no threat, the mosquitoes themselves can contract a disease from an outside source," said Capt. Shane Sims, 374 AMDS public health flight deputy commander. "That's why we make sure to test through out the season.

"Once the disease is removed from the area, we need to worry about keeping the population of mosquitoes down," he said.

However, because they cannot be completely eradicated people should protect themselves.

For instance, after a heavy rain, when mosquitoes are most prominent, people need to do a brief sweep of their yard and ensure that there is no standing water. This is especially important in areas that collect water, like buckets or tires left outside in the rain.

"Mosquitoes lay their larva in standing water," said Captain Sims. "By preventing this condition, we can keep the population of mosquitoes down and minimize the number of bites we suffer."

The use of over-the-counter-medicines and making sure screens remain intact on windows, are other ways people can protect themselves from mosquitoes.

With the help of the 374 AMDS and the preventive actions we can take, everyone should have a peaceful and hopefully a mosquito free summer.