A mosquito boom across flood-ravaged eastern Australia has led to a surge in demand for products such as Aerogard and Stingose, with some local stores saying they have to restock daily.
There are two pharmacies in the small town of Deniliquin in southern New South Wales and both are struggling to meet the demand for mosquito products.
Izzy Hobson is a pharmacy technician at Soul Pattinson Chemist. She said they’re ordering more mosquito products every day.
“We can’t actually keep up with all the products,” she said. “We just get them and they just go.
“It’s a lot more than what we usually order for this time of year, each year.”
Deniliquin is one of dozens of towns in NSW and Victoria under a current flood warning and the Bureau of Meteorology has warned the Edward River may exceed major flood levels and reach 9.4 metres next week. As of Thursday there were more than 100 active flood warnings across NSW and about 40 in Victoria.
The stagnant flood waters, combined with warm spring weather, create ideal conditions for mosquito-borne diseases such as Japanese encephalitis, Ross River virus, Kunjin virus and Murray Valley encephalitis.
Hobson said customers are snapping up any product that might help prevent or alleviate the stings: mosquito repellants, post-bite gels, mozzie bands and patches, and even essential oils.
It’s the same story around the corner at Eric Sim Pharmacy, owner Hawie Asfha said. But the demand is also having an impact higher up the supply chain.
“We are having issues getting stock as well from our suppliers,” Asfha said.
“We just chuck everything on the back order.”
More than 300km south-west of Deniliquin, in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Alicia Drew said the mosquitoes are “out of control”.
The sports coordinator was working at a school in Nhill last Friday and ducked out to the local IGA to buy some Aerogard during recess, because the mosquitoes were biting through her polo shirt and socks.
“We were getting a lot of mosquitoes at like nine o’clock in the morning during this school activity,” she said.
In her home town of Horsham, Drew said, the insect repellant section of the Woolworths was just empty shelves on Sunday. Tanya Jakobi, the service supervisor at the supermarket, compared it to the toilet paper shortages of March 2020.
Jakobi said they are restocking every night but by the following lunchtime, “there’s nothing left on the shelf for others to buy”.
“As quick as it’s coming in, it’s going off the shelf,” she said.
“You’ll see people not just buying one product; they might buy three products of the same thing, like different types of strengths of Aerogard.”
Drew said she had to cover herself in mozzie repellant just to go for a walk with her dogs.
“At the dog park in Horsham, you can see the mozzies like a cloud,” she said. “I’ve never seen mosquitoes like this in Australia.”
Drew said the mosquitoes are out even when it’s 10C and windy. She has taken to lighting a mosquito coil at her back door every evening to stop them from coming inside.
“Because they still slip in, even through the flyscreens,” she said. “So my house now smells of citronella.”
Drew said the mosquitoes are “all that everyone’s talking about it here at the moment”.
At his pharmacy in Deniliquin, Asfha said they are also providing advice on how to avoid getting bitten.
University of Sydney mosquito expert Dr Cameron Webb said the mosquito population will increase significantly once the weather warms up.
“So unfortunately, the flood waters will recede just in time for the weather to warm up and be perfect for mosquitoes,” he said.
Webb recommended people in affected areas use an insect repellant, applying a solid coat over all areas of exposed skin, but also wear appropriate clothing to reduce their chance of being bitten.
“If you’re outdoors, if you can wear light-fitting and loose-fitting clothing, that’s really a good physical deterrent as well,” he said.
“We often say loose-fitting clothing because we do know mosquitoes can bite through clothing.”
