Tiger mosquitoes are the latest nasty to have invaded France, hot on the heels of Asian ladybirds and hornets. These particular critters can carry dengue fever and chikungunya. I’m not entirely sure what those are, but they sound very unpleasant and can apparently leave you with aches and pains that last months.

So the health authorities are urging property owners to try and prevent the build up of stagnant water on their land which will provide ideal breeding grounds.

And what has our commune done but had another enthusiastic ditch digging campaign that has left us with vast tracts of stagnant water where our drive meets the road – not our land so we can’t do much about it except point out the mosquito-attractiveness of these completely pointless ditches to our maire.

ditch yuk

There has never been a problem with water on the roads around us so we can’t understand why so much trouble has gone into digging the fosses. All being well, they’ll dry up soon but in the meantime they’re a bit of an eyesore. And an open invitation to passing tigers… 

ditch