Feature Article August 28, 2002
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If them rattlers don't get you, those mosquitoes certainly willby Jeff Green Last Monday here at the News we received a fax from the KFL&A Health Unit announcing the first confirmed death of crows in Kingston due to West Nile virus. We debated rushing the story into the paper for our Aug. 21 edition, but in the end we didnt run it.
The next morning on a front page headline, the venerable Whig Standard announced the first deaths in Kingston caused by West Nile virus. The headline did not mention crows. To be fair, the article did say, quite early on, that it was crows that were killed. Still, the headline did not mention crows.
I dont know about anyone else, but when a headline says Two die in fire, I take it to mean two people died in the fire. If I then read that it was two cats that had died in the fire, I would consider the headline was misleading. The same goes for crows and viruses. This is not to say that humans are more important, ecologically speaking, than crows or cats, but newspapers target a human readership, and humans should be the default species referred to.
There have also been articles in the media, including The Frontenac News, about the resurgence of the Massassauga Rattler, one of which was sighted near Ompah, and there have been reports of rattler bites in southern Ontario.
In fact, there have been no serious injuries or human deaths in Ontario this year due to Massassauga Rattlers or the West Nile virus. The Massassauga Rattler is reportedly quite shy when it comes to humans (I wonder why), and scientists have pointed out that West Nile virus seems to prefer crows and other birds to humans, because they make better hosts.
The best advice as far as rattlers goes is to stay away if you hear a rattling sound coming from a snake. As far as West Nile virus goes - what can I say? Try not to get bitten by an infected mosquito. We could all stay indoors from the end of black fly season until the first frost, in which case we might avoid contact with mosquitoes entirely, unless one gets in the house. And you never know, the one that gets in the house might turn out to be one of those West Nile mosquitoes, and then if the virus happens to like our bodies, we might get sick and die.
In a press release that came out this week from the KFL&A Health Unit, it was reported that six crows have now died, and there was a section with advice on how to avoid mosquito bites. Included in this advice were the suggestions to avoid areas with high mosquito populations, wear light coloured, long sleeved clothing, use a mosquito repellent containing DEET, make sure all windows and doors in your home have screens, and take extra precaution from dusk to dawn when mosquito activity is particularly high..
Now, I dont know anyone who seeks mosquito bites, but areas of high mosquito populations would include most of the Frontenacs, and no one, I mean no one in this region, is going to go through a summer without getting bitten. The press release also gives suggestions as to how to reduce mosquito breeding areas. It says property owners should drain any areas of standing or stagnant water on your property. Unfortunately, there are wetlands, i.e. swamps, throughout the county, on private and crown land, and many of us live near them. Should we consider moving? Myself, I will go about my daily business until I we see seven dead crows flying overhead, then I think it will be time to head indoors for a while.
Fortunately we live in the temperate zone, and it will soon be winter. Lets hope for a long, cold winter, that lasts from the beginning of September until mid-June. Well be safe from all worry about mosquitoes and rattlers for 9 months. We could die in a blizzard, or of cabin fever, or get chilblains, or hanta virus from all the deer mice that come in for the winter, but we will be safe from the scourge of West Nile virus.
