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African swine fever
Controlling mosquito populations around your farm is crucial to preventing the spread of Japanese encephalitis (JE) and other diseases for you and your piggery. While the information in this article applies to humans and pigs, much can also be applied to other livestock.
The basics
Adult mosquitoes lay eggs on or around fresh, waste or stagnant standing water in natural or man-made places including ponds, dams, rainwater or septic tanks, scrap metal piles, old drums, farm equipment, roof gutters, buckets, troughs, puddles, creeks, ditches and marshy areas.
When they hatch, larval mosquitoes, known as wrigglers, live in the water and can complete their development and emerge as adults within 7–10 days.
What you can do
There are simple steps humans can take to avoid our exposure to infected mosquitos and these are:
For animals however, a combination of environmental and chemical control is most effective way to control mosquitos. From an environmental perspective:
Adult mosquitoes prefer sheltered, cool, and dark places to rest, and tend to be on the underside of objects or plant foliage to avoid getting wet. Reducing vegetation around your piggery will also minimise areas where adult mosquitoes can rest.
Lastly, ensure all windows and doors are covered by well-maintained mosquito proof screens.
Monitor mosquito numbers daily. Visually inspect water bodies and water-filled containers for wrigglers, and facilities for resting adult mosquitoes (e.g., ceilings, walls). If mosquitoes remain abundant, consider additional mosquito control.
Chemical control
Chemical residues in pork are a trade and food quality risk and the misuse of chemicals can also create environmental risks to bees, wildlife, aquatic life, and people. If you start using chemicals:
Chemical control can be applied to water sources, the outside of sheds and buildings, effluent ponds, staff facilities and pigs.
Remember to keep records of all pest control activities as part of your biosecurity plan.