Birdbaths 'breeding ground' for disease carrying mosquitos

Warning as invading bugs found in Britain

- By Tony Whitfield

REPLENISH those birdbaths regularly and leave paddling pools and watering cans empty after use to stop disease-carrying mosquitoes from gaining a foothold in Britain.

That is the warning to gardeners from pest experts after two invasive mosquito species, known to carry several diseases including yellow fever and dengue, were detected recently in southern England.

They say even water in vases can provide the ideal breeding ground for the flying insects.

Egyptian mosquito eggs were detected in a freight storage facility near London’s Heathrow Airport two years ago and Asian tiger mosquitoes eggs were found at a motorway service station in Kent last year for the first time since 2019.