Mosquito Control At
p. 85 · Read in the full issue
Mangaia
From Our Own Correspondent
MANGAIA, February.
THE annoyance and potexitial danger from the mosquitoes that infest the bush surrounding local villages has always been a problem for Mangaians.
But it would now appear to be within reach of a solution.
Two local youths, < who spent some months in Rarotonga studying mosquito control, have returned, and arrangements will presumably be made for preventive measures as practised in Rarotonga.
As things stand, we have always had open water-drums, commonly used by natives to conserve rain-water for house hold use, beside village huts; these are a fruitful breeding-ground for the insects, and no one thought of killing the larvae with a film of kerosene on the surface of the water —lamp-oil is too precious here, in any case.
Again, water in the exposed roots of trees, and in meat-tins left lying around, constitutes another mosquito source. Our natives are not yet awake to the danger of a wandering mosquito biting, first, a filaria victim, and next a healthy person, thus spreading the disease. While the in cidence of elephantiasis has always been very slight here, this danger is always to be considered.
The cutting of the thick mori-scrub will present for landowners, a formidable job, in the event of an edict compelling this measure. Growing to a height well above a tall man’s head, the mori shuts out fresh air from some compounds and is a mosquito roost around others.