Assalamu alaikum ya Saracen!

The rains have come and gone in our beloved Serendib, leaving with it a mixed bag of blessings. It was very welcome at first, a pleasant change from the seething, humid unbearable heat that came before. And just when we began to fall in love with its coolness, the rains broke our dams and flooded houses, and ended many lives. How cruel is kindness in this wicked world?

Now that the rains have for the most part gone, and the Sun embraces us more warmly, the puddles left behind by the rain may land you in jail. Yes my dear Saracen, it is time to inspect your home, for mosquito breeding places, before the government inspectors show up. Doing so will make your life and their’s a whole lot easier, and our nation a whole lot healthier.

Many of you may have already been convicted of some sort of dengue related offence, and if you haven’t – well done. To inconvenience you less this time, Ibn Serendib lists some places you should check, before they get checked –

• Your fridge / freezer’s drip pan, located beneath or behind your refrigerator. Make sure it does not retain water.
• Flower pots and fixtures are notorious for having shallow pools of water in them, especially places where you have stacked pots in disuse.
• If you are lucky to have a tube well on your property, make sure the pump and piston do not retain water.
• Check your rain gutters on a sunny day. Make sure there are no stagnant pools of water down its length.
• Drains and drain gullies are notorious for harboring stagnant pools of water, especially if they are poorly constructed. These areas almost always have water in them, so to make sure if you see water puddles to confirm its fresh and free of mosquito larvae. If there are mosquito larvae in the water they will be visibly as tiny wriggling strands that are black. Deal with this immediately.
• If you have sheet roofing, water may be retained in dents, so check this as well.
• Check your garden, outdoors for pits in the soil where water can retain. Add soil and fill if you find any.
• If you are careless enough to dispose coconut shells, plastic containers and other water retainers in your garden, please rid yourself of them as soon as you can. They will attract the inspectors just as strongly as the water puddles attract the Dengue mosquito. Collect them all into a trash bag, and give it off to the municipal council as soon as possible.
• Lastly, check around for any place that has water retained and dry it out. Make sure water cannot retain there again as well.

There is no doubt that the number of potential mosquito breeding grounds far exceeds those that are listed above. If you feel you know a place in the house that people will most likely miss, please comment below and God himself will reward thee. For their part the government has published some tips here on some potential Dengue breeding sites, which I think is best read and attended to. I'm sure the inspectors will be motivated by this list as well. Also please see here on some solid tips to prevent Dengue in your home. It's got pictures as well!

Where ever you choose to include in your dengue search, ensure that you give it a go. The hassle this kind of thing can bring you is just not worth your precious time. And your safety is Ibn Serendib’s desire.

May Allah bless you with health and long life!