Living with people they bite, Zika mosquitoes hard to fight

Mosquito-control workers are asking automotive retailers to get rid of old tires that can turn into mosquito incubators if they collect water in the Florida Panhandle, lining up laboratories to test the insects for the Zika virus in New Orleans, and preparing to hunt down and destroy mosquito breeding sites in neighborhoods of infected people in coastal Georgia.

Mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus are tough to fight because they breed close to people’s homes: in the standing water of outside flower pots and dog bowls, and sometimes even in tub drains or other wet spots inside.

While most people experience either mild or no symptoms, Zika is suspected of causing a devastating birth defect — babies born with abnormally small heads — and pregnant Americans are urged to avoid travel to affected areas.

U.S. mosquito fighters have already dealt with these species to prevent outbreaks of dengue fever and chikungunya virus, said Joe Conlon, the association’s technical director.

Harry Savage, chief entomologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said mosquitoes are far less likely to be found breeding inside U.S. homes, which as a rule have screened windows and air conditioning, than they are in Latin American homes, which often don’t.