The discovery of a mosquito carrying the West Nile virus in Norwalk last week renews the summer fear of insect bites.

The Connecticut Mosquito Management Program advises the best way to avoid the West Nile virus is to lower your risk of being bitten by mosquitoes.

Here are steps to take to avoid the annoying summer pests, according to the Mosquito Management Program:

• Minimize time spent outdoors between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
• Be sure door and window screens are tight-fitting and in good repair.
• Wear shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods or when mosquitoes are most active. Clothing should be light colored and made of tightly woven materials that keep mosquitoes away from the skin.
• Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors or in an unscreened structure and to protect babies when outdoors.
• Consider the use of mosquito repellent, according to directions, when outdoors.

Restricting mosquito breeding habitats can greatly lessen the potential for West Nile virus to become a significant human health threat, the Connecticut Mosquito Management Program says.

To protect you and your family from mosquitoes and the West Nile virus, it advises you:

• Reduce the amount of standing water available for mosquito breeding around your home.
• Empty standing water from used or discarded tires, including tire swings, that may have accumulated on your property.
• Dispose of cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers. Do not overlook containers that have become overgrown by vegetation.
• Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers that are left outside. Drainage holes on the sides collect enough water for mosquitoes to breed.
• Clean clogged roof gutters annually. Roof gutters can produce millions of mosquitoes each season.
• Turn over plastic wading pools when not in use. A wading pool becomes a mosquito producer if it is not used regularly.
• Turn over wheelbarrows and do not allow water to stagnate in birdbaths. Change water in birdbaths and wading pools weekly.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito producers if they stagnate.
• Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, even if not being used. A swimming pool left untended during a vacation can produce enough mosquitoes to result in neighborhood-wide complaints. Mosquitoes may breed in the water that collects on swimming pool covers.
• Use landscaping to eliminate standing water that collects on your property. Mosquitoes can develop in any puddle that lasts more than seven to 10 days

Greenwich, Take Steps To Avoid Mosquitoes And West Nile Virus | The Greenwich Daily Voice.