Sleep Disruptor Hides in Used Rubber
If there is one creature that gives us the creeps, both literally and figuratively, especially during the summer months, it is the mosquito. So, chances are you are not thrilled about the superlative of the nasty creature: the tiger mosquito. It enters the Netherlands in large numbers. Remarkably, used car tires play a major role in this.
No, the tiger mosquito is not a translation of a new Chinese SUV in this case, and you have not ended up on InsectBiteWeek.nl. Still, we need to talk about the nasty stinging creature. The invasive mosquito species can not only cause annoying itching, but can also bring diseases such as dengue and Zika fever. The mosquito species is appearing in the Netherlands more and more often, and that is not a good thing for anyone. Remarkably, used car tires play a role in the rise of the tiger mosquito in the Netherlands.
This is evident from reports in the AD that spoke with the Stop Invasive Exotics platform. Wilfred Reinhold – chairman of the platform – tells the AD that the tiger mosquito not only appears at Schiphol and the Port of Rotterdam, but also ‘dozens of times a year’ at importers of used car tires. According to Reinhold, importers of used car tires are even the busiest import route for the tiger mosquito. That shouldn’t be the case.
Used car tires should be imported and stored dry. Mosquitoes, including the tiger mosquito, lay eggs in water, and without water they do not hatch. The fact that the black and white striped sleep disruptor often appears at importers of used car tires means that something is not right. “It is actually an indication that the rules are being cheated,” says Rheinhold to the AD, and concludes that the NVWA is too lenient with enforcing the rules.