"West Nile Virus - Protect Your Home Garden"
Last year more than 280 people died from West Nile out of a record 4,156 who were infected --most caused by mosquito bites. The new GardenHere Website provides tips to home gardeners on how to make their gardens a safer place.
CHEVERLY, MD (PRWEB) August 11, 2003 - GardenHere advises home gardeners how to protect their gardens from mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) health officials expect this year to be even worse than last year. "People over age 50 have a higher risk for becoming seriously ill when they get infected with West Nile Virus. People under age 50 can also become sick, but it is less likely."
We home gardeners are crazy about our yards, plants and flowers," said Al Stubblefield, owner of the new Website www.GardenHere.com, and, so are deer, rabbits, birds, and mosquitoes infected with the West Nile Virus. Fortunately, there are some things we can do to protect our families, friends and selves."
GardenHere recommends a two-pronged defense:
1. Avoid being bitten by mosquitoes in the first place --use protective clothing and a DEET-based insect repellent.
2. Control mosquito reproduction by denying them standing water where they lay their eggs.
Here are a few dos and don'ts to make home gardens a safer place:
• Stay indoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
• Use an insect repellent that contains DEET --be sure to spray your clothing to avoid mosquitoes biting through thin cloth.
• Drain standing water from flower pots, wading pools, and wheelbarrows.
• Every day or so change or empty the water in birdbaths, pet dishes, and children's play pools.
• Stock outdoor fish ponds with mosquito eating fish. (Don't you just love it when you can feed the fish and control mosquitoes at the same time?)
• Finally, here's one you can enjoy. Sit near a fan or some place where there's a breeze. According to officials at the CDC, it's more difficult for mosquitoes to land and bite their intended victim when there's a slight wind. "I always like this tip with a cup of coffee, glass of ice tea or tart lemonade," said Stubblefield.
For a more complete list of recommendations visit GardenHere at www.GardenHere.com
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About GardenHere:
GardenHere began as a personal Webpage in December 2002 as way to share pictures with family and friends of the improvements to the fifty-year old home Al Stubblefield and Guillermo Morrison purchased in Cheverly, Maryland. Al had an agreement with Guillermo that Al would be in charge of the outside and Guillermo would fix the inside. Since then, Guillermo has encroached a little on Als territory and both have become passionate about their home garden and can usually agree on inside improvements, too. Al works a full-time job in downtown Washington, DC, builds the Website, gardens, and exchanges plants weekends and evenings.
Today, there are about 500 visitors per day to the Website and over 120 home garden members belong to the forums where home gardeners trade free plants and flowers. People usually learn about the site through word of mouth.
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