The summer travel season is almost upon us, and this year travelers are thinking more about insects.
Fears about the Zika virus are heightened as the infested mosquitoes spread and more cases are reported in the U.S. Lewis says that currently all the cases in the U.S. came from people traveling, and that there is still no vaccine to help prevent the virus.
“Right now the protection remains - don’t get bitten by one of the two kinds of mosquitos that transmits the disease. And that’s the good news for us in Iowa, neither of those two mosquitos are found here in numbers that create any significance,” says Donald Lewis, Iowa State University Extension Entomologist.
Lewis says that this year's Iowa mosquito count is normal so far and that the count is still dependent on the standing water around the state.
On this edition of Talk of Iowa, host Chairty Nebbe talks with Lewis about Zika and about how to avoid bedbugs when heading out for summer travels. Richard Jauron, ISU Extension Horticulturist, and Mark Vitosh, District Forrester with the DNR, also join the conversation and answer listener questions.
