A favorite summer pastime here in the South is the backyard barbecue. Unfortunately, the occasional unwanted guest often rears its ugly head. For those of us who’ve felt the sting (and the subsequent itch) of a mosquito bite, you’ll want to take part in the Georgia Department of Public Health’s “Tip ‘N Toss” campaign to help take the bite out of your next backyard barbecue…

What You Can Do:

• A mosquito can grow from an egg to an adult in a week to 10 days and containers with standing water are a breeding ground. Start by cleaning up around your yard and home, getting rid of anything that you don’t need that can hold water.
• For the containers that can hold water that you can’t get rid of, get in the habit of tipping and tossing containers after every rain and at least once a week. These include flowerpots and planters, children’s toys, baby pools and outdoor pet dishes.
• Be sure to cover water storage containers, such as buckets, cisterns and rain barrels.
• Don’t let water accumulate in old tires, rain gutters, piles of leaves or natural holes in vegetation.

There are also a number of natural plants that you can add to your flowerbeds or place in containers in your outdoor living spaces. Included among them are citronella, catnip and marigolds. For a comprehensive list, keep reading…

While the desire to avoid a mosquito bite for the itch and cosmetic factors alone prove excellent reasons to adopt the practices outlined above, another powerful motivator is to prevent the possible spread of the Zika virus. While no reports of locally transmitted Zika cases have been documented here in Georgia, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That’s why it’s so important that we all do our part to police our individual corners of Gwinnett County by taking part in the Tip ‘N Toss Campaign. Click here to learn more about the Tip ‘N Toss Campaign and the Zika virus.