Itch, itch! Scratch, scratch! That can mean only one thing — it’s mosquito season in Arkansas and a blood-sucking fiend has sunk its proverbial teeth into you.
She didn’t actually bite you (yes, only female mosquitoes “bite”) — she used her straw-like mouth to pierce your skin with her proboscis, writes Tina Parker in HomeStyle.
Besides the obvious annoyance of an itchy “bite,” mosquitoes can carry and spread life-threatening diseases such as West Nile virus, dengue fever and malaria. Fortunately, Arkansans don’t have to worry about malaria or dengue fever unless they travel to areas where the infections are prominent. However, West Nile virus is a concern here and now.
See Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for suggestions for products and practices to help avoid that itchy bite in the first place.