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Living with People they Bite, Zika Mosquitoes Hard to Fight

Zika virus
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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - The mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus are among the hardest species to fight because they live and breed in tub drains, dog bowls, buckets, flower pots and other places inside the houses and yards of the people they bite.

Bug experts and mosquito control officers from across the U.S. are attending the American Mosquito Control Association's annual conference in Savannah, which started Monday. They say Zika-carrying mosquitoes are tough to reach with sprays because they breed so close to homes.

Mark Cothran is mosquito control director for Gulf County, Florida. He says fighting mosquitoes requires labor-intensive, door-to-door efforts to get homeowners to empty standing water from containers.

American Mosquito Control Association technical adviser Joe Conlon says it can be difficult to get homeowners' cooperation because "in the U.S., we don't like the government in our houses."