Don'ts-Do's-Mosquitoes-SIT

 

Don’ts

Do's

Don’t say SIT will reduce the number of disease cases.

Do say that SIT will reduce the number of mosquitoes capable of transmitting disease

Don’t say SIT will solve our mosquito problems.

Do say that SIT will reduce the number of Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus in our communities.

Don’t say residents will not receive mosquito bites anymore.

Do say that SIT will reduce the number of Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus, but it will take some time and there are other species of mosquitoes that can bite and transmit disease.

Don’t say that SIT will replace the use of insecticides.

Do say that SIT will be used in combination with other IPM strategies and will reduce the amount of pesticides used.

Don’t say we will no longer have the need for insecticides.

Do say that SIT is part of an Integrated Pest Management programme that does require the temporary use of insecticides

Don’t refer to SIT as “safe”, “non-toxic”, “natural”, or “harmless”.

Do say that SIT is species specific, environment-friendly and will only affect the target species

Don’t indicate that residents don’t need to worry about eliminating standing water from their property.

Do say that eggs from Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus females that have mated with sterilized males will not develop but there are other mosquito species that can breed in the same water sources. Moreover, removing standing water is an important and vital part of the integrated control strategy.

Don’t say residents won’t need to use insect repellent since male mosquitoes cannot bite.

Do say that released sterilized males cannot bite but the programme takes some time for reduction to be noticeable and there are other mosquito species that bite. It’s important that residents protect themselves from all mosquito bites.

Don’t say that this is a proven effective mosquito control strategy.

Do say that the release of sterilized males has been extremely successful in other insects and our goal is to demonstrate similar success with mosquitoes.

Don’t say that this will be an ongoing control effort in this area.

Do say that we hope to demonstrate the effectiveness of SIT to manage mosquito populations and work to incorporate this strategy into our ongoing programme.

Don’t say that this programme will have effect on the environment.

Do say that SIT will reduce the number of Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus in the area without any non-target impacts, and hence it is considered environment-friendly.