Don’t Breathe Or Leave The House Pollens, Mosquitoes Are Waiting To Torment Unwary Area Residents

Mowing the lawn, waxing the car, firing up the barbecue - these are rites of spring.

So are sneezing, itching, scratching and wheezing.

Warm weather this weekend should trigger a nearly invisible cloud of irritating pollen from trees, grasses and weeds.

People with hay fever and asthma will suffer.

They aren’t alone. Wet weather so far this year has created plenty of watery breeding sites for mosquitoes.

Swarms of the blood-sucking insects are ready to attack anyone who ventures out in the early morning or evening.

Health experts say standing water should be dumped, and water in birdbaths should be changed twice a week to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

The Spokane County Health District recommends the use of botanical products to repel them, especially on children.

Citronella candles and torches are effective, but should be used carefully because of the flames.

Chemical repellents can be harmful and should be used lightly.

Pesticides are most effective when mosquitoes are located in their shady daytime resting spots. Spraying those areas at mid-day will minimize the problem come dinner time. Shrubs and the north sides of houses are typical resting spots, said Mike LaScuola, chemical hazard adviser for the health district. He also said that directions on pesticides, which are poisons, should be followed carefully.

While mosquitoes in the Inland Northwest are not known as disease carriers, LaScuola said, “They are a profound nuisance.”

As for allergies, doctors are seeing a steady stream of patients now.

“This is pretty close to being the high time,” said nurse Marti Nicklaus at the Marycliff Allergy Clinic.

The two physicians at the clinic treat as many as 50 patients a day this time of year.

Many of them are undergoing shots to lessen their allergies.

Dr. Robert Stier, a retired allergist who studies pollen samples, said the late arrival of spring this year means the worst of hay fever season is yet to come.

Most people notice the greenish-yellow pollen that falls from pine trees in late May and early June, but the real causes of hay fever are smaller types of pollen coming from grasses, weeds and other trees, he said.

“It’s late this year because of all the cold nights we’ve had,” said Stier.

Air pollution levels, which can be affected by smaller grains of pollen, have been low in recent weeks, said Ron Edgar, chemist with the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority. That suggests the worst of the pollen season is yet to arrive.

Pollution filters don’t capture the large pine pollen particles.

“When everything starts to turn yellow, that’s pine pollen,” Edgar said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Achoo..it’s pollen season