Hungary fights mosquito invasion – extermination processes to take place

Mosquitos make our lives a little harder every summer. Thanks to the weeks of heavy rain at the end of May and beginning of June, we are facing a severe invasion near the waterfronts. Luckily, extermination processes are taking place in over 400 settlements all over the country.

As Daily News Hungary reported earlier, due to the weeks of heavy rains earlier this summer, we could prepare ourselves for a record number of mosquitos. Due to the heavy rains, larvae could grow anywhere in the past weeks.

Read alsoMosquito invasion expected in Hungary soon

Index reports that mosquito extermination processes have started all over the country. Riverbanks were a priority, extermination already begun along the banks of Dráva, Danube and Tisza, and even in certain districts of Budapest. Another 460 settlements (around 100,000 hectares of land) can expect mosquito extermination to take place later this week.

Extermination processes used in Hungary

Authorities claim that extermination processes began in April.

In Hungary, chemical insecticides are used against grown mosquitos, and biological agents (like bacteria) are used to control the larvae, Magyar Hírlap writes.

The biological agent is a protein produced by a specific bacterium which only harms mosquito larvae and no other animals or plants. The chemical insecticide against adult mosquitos is a spray pyrethroid pesticide. This pesticide is sprayed from special machines installed on vehicles.

Experts say that we perceive the current situation to be more drastic than it actually is. Many larvae became adult mosquitos due to the heavy rains, but the situation is nowhere near as bad ad it was in 2013 after the flood of the Danube. However, there have been smaller floods on river Tisza and its tributaries resulting in an increased number of mosquitos near the riverbank.

Source: www.index.hu; www.magyarhirlap.hu