FAQ

The tiger mosquito is black with white stripes, with high contrast. It has a white line on the back of the thorax, five white stripes on its legs and the tip of the last section of its hind legs is white. It is smaller than a quarter of a 5 cent coin. More information about the tiger mosquito here.

The tiger mosquito originally comes from the tropical forests of South-east Asia. It has spread to Europe via the import of used tires and lucky bamboo.

Within Europe, adult mosquitoes travel in private cars or other means of transport via road traffic from countries where it is established.

The female needs stagnant water to reproduce. She lays her eggs on a solid surface of an artificial container (on the inside of a rain barrel, for example) above the stagnant water. More information about the life cycle of the mosquito here.

Large areas of water are not an ideal place for the reproduction of the tiger mosquito. In addition, ponds contain natural predators that will prevent this mosquito from developing.

The tiger mosquito bites during the day. Peak hours are in the morning, and late afternoon/evening. Only the females bite. More information about its biting behaviour here. 

The tiger mosquito can transmit several viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika which can cause diseases in humans. Therefore, it can be a threat for public health.

The most important ones for humans are dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses.

Currently the probability to become sick after a tiger mosquito bite is very low. Several conditions are needed to become infected: a population of tiger mosquitoes must be present, someone must return to Belgium infected from a country where the viruses circulate and a tiger mosquito must bite this sick person and then bite a healthy person.

Kill the mosquito without destroying it (use a towel). Report it by sending a picture on this website or via the mobile App (Android or IOS). Keep the mosquito until you hear from us.

Due to the high workload, we can’t guarantee that your notification ends up in our system (or is processed in a timely manner). Therefore, we kindly ask you to report the mosquito via the website or app, or ask someone else to do it. If you experience problems, please inform us.

This website allows citizens to report the presence of a tiger mosquito in Belgium to Sciensano. Thanks to citizens, we are able to cover the entire Belgian territory.

The tiger mosquito causes a lot of nuisances because it bites during the day. Moreover, it can be vector of pathogens such as the viruses of dengue, chikungunya and Zika. That’s why we need to assess the presence, establishment and potential spread of the tiger mosquito population in Belgium.

Without a picture we cannot confirm with certainty whether it was a tiger mosquito. Please note that we can only identify a mosquito, not a bite or anything else.

Our team analyzes your picture and verifies if it is a tiger mosquito. You will receive an email indicating whether it is a tiger mosquito or not.

We will contact you for more information about the circumstances in which you observed the mosquito. A field inspection might be planned at the location where the mosquito was observed to confirm its presence and determine the extent of the tiger mosquito population in your neighbourhood.

The competent authorities for prevention and control are informed about the finding and depending on the situation they will put in place preventive and control measures.

Knowing where the tiger mosquito is, makes it possible to apply preventive and control measures to slow down its establishment and spread in Belgium and thus prevent local transmission of viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika.

All the locations can be found on the map on this page. More information about the results of the surveillance can be found in the annual reports here.

The main way to prevent tiger mosquitoes is to avoid breeding sites, and to do this, every citizen can contribute by eliminating stagnant water in artificial containers in their garden. In a second step, biocides (Bti) can be applied to breeding sites where water can’t be removed (such as rain barrels and other water reservoirs). The control of invasive species is a regional competence and is executed by a control company that has the license to use the biocide.

Remove all stagnant water from artificial containers such as flower pots, rain barrels, children’s toys in your garden or on your terrace. Turn them upside down or in the case of a rain barrel, cover it with a mosquito net. If you have water bowls for animals, change the water every five days and scrub the sides of the bowl to remove any eggs. More information here Reduction population of mosquitoes.

Avoid outdoor activities at times of day when mosquitoes are most active, wear clothes that cover arms, legs and feet, and use mosquito repellents. More information on how to avoid mosquito bites here.

The biocide comes in the form of granules that are deposited in all areas with stagnant water that cannot be removed. The granules contain a bacterium (bacillus thuringiensis isreaelensis) that only affects the development of mosquito larvae. There is no danger for other animals or humans.