Dengue prevention at home: NEA’s checklist as a family rota

Dengue prevention at home, as the National Environment Agency (NEA) sets it out, means stopping Aedes mosquitoes from breeding in clean, stagnant water and avoiding bites. NEA’s checklist for a mozzie-free home (page updated 14 August 2026) asks for plant pot plates and flower vases to be done every other day, scupper drains, the garden and air cooler units once a week, and sand granular insecticide and roof gutters once a month, with some jobs at all times. NEA’s Stop Dengue Now page (updated 13 August 2026) says to do the Mozzie Wipeout at least once a week.

NEA says dengue is spread through the bite of the Aedes mosquito, which prefers to breed in clean, stagnant water easily found in homes. On 17 October 2026, NEA’s dengue cases page reported 79 cases in the week ending 10 October 2026 (epidemiological week 40), eight more than the previous week, and 2,643 cases in 2026 from the first 40 epidemiological weeks. It counted nine active dengue clusters as of 12 October 2026, two of them red alerts with 10 or more cases, and said Singapore is in the traditional peak dengue season, from May to October. NEA notes that weekly numbers reflect trends better than day-to-day numbers, so read these as a dated snapshot, not a forecast.

Below, NEA’s steps come first and are labelled as NEA’s, followed by a shared rota that is ours, not NEA’s. This is general information, not medical advice. NEA says people with symptoms suggestive of dengue should see a medical practitioner early. Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a separate illness and is not covered.

Where does Aedes breed in a Singapore home?

NEA’s list of potential Aedes breeding sites (page updated 14 April 2026) gives these top five habitats found in homes for 2025:

1. Domestic containers (pails)
2. Flower pot plates and trays
3. Ornamental containers (vases)
4. Refuse bins placed outside landed houses
5. Canvas sheets and plastic sheets

The first three were the same in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Canvas or plastic sheets were fourth in 2023, not in the 2024 top five (plants, hardened soil and plant axils were fifth that year) and fifth in 2025. Our reading: most of the list is ordinary household items.

NEA’s checklist also names spots specific to Singapore housing. It says not to block the flow of water in scupper drains along common corridors in HDB estates, and to avoid placing potted plants and other items over them. Trays or receptacles should not be placed beneath or on top of any air-conditioning unit; if a tray is needed to address other issues, NEA says to install HDB’s patented air-conditioner trays, and that regular checks of the tray are still necessary. For landed homes, the checklist includes roof gutters and apron drains.

What are NEA’s Mozzie Wipeout steps?

NEA’s Stop Dengue Now page says: “Do the Mozzie Wipeout at least once a week to prevent mosquito breeding. Stop dengue with B-L-O-C-K.” On its dengue cases page, NEA lists the B-L-O-C-K steps as:

1. Break up hardened soil
2. Lift and empty flowerpot plates
3. Overturn pails and wipe their rims
4. Change water in vases
5. Keep roof gutters clear and place BTI insecticide inside

Our inference: these steps overlap with the checklist below (plates, vases, roof gutters), whose own interval for plant pot plates and vases is every other day. The NEA pages we read do not say how the two fit together, so our rota follows the checklist’s frequencies and does the five steps on Saturdays.

How often does each home check need to happen?

NEA’s checklist for a mozzie-free home (page updated 14 August 2026) sorts the jobs by frequency:

• At all times: turn pails and watering cans over and store them under shelter; loosen the soil in potted plants so water does not collect on hardened soil; do not block scupper drains along HDB common corridors; cover rarely used gully traps; cover bamboo pole holders after use; keep trays off air-conditioning units.
• Every other day: remove the water in plant pot plates, then clean and scrub the plate thoroughly to remove mosquito eggs (NEA also says to avoid the use of plant pot plates, if possible); change the water in flower vases, clean and scrub the inner sides, and wash the roots of flowers and plants thoroughly, because mosquito eggs can stick to them easily.
• Once a week: clear fallen leaves and stagnant water in scupper drains and the garden; clear any stagnant water in the air cooler unit.
• Once a month: add the prescribed amounts of sand granular insecticide to vases, gully traps and roof gutters, even if they are dry; clear away fallen leaves in roof gutters and apron drains.

How can two carers share the work? Our rota, not NEA’s

“Every other day” is awkward because a week has seven days. Checks on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday leave gaps of two, two, two and one days, so none is longer than every other day. Checks on Monday, Thursday and Sunday would leave gaps of three, three and one days, and three days is longer than NEA’s interval.

A rota you can copy, with what NEA says in brackets:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday (NEA: every other day): empty and scrub every plant pot plate; change vase water, scrub the inside of the vase and wash the roots.
• Saturday (NEA: once a week; Mozzie Wipeout at least once a week): clear fallen leaves and stagnant water from scupper drains and the garden; clear stagnant water in the air cooler unit; do the five B-L-O-C-K steps.
• First Saturday of the month (NEA: once a month): sand granular insecticide in vases, gully traps and roof gutters, then clear fallen leaves from roof gutters and apron drains. The next first Saturdays are 7 November 2026, 5 December 2026 and 2 January 2027.
• Every time you finish with them (NEA: at all times): pails and watering cans upside down under shelter; bamboo pole holders covered.

Our suggestions: hang the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday job on something that already happens, such as the ten-minute evening reset, and put the first-Saturday date in the shared diary you use for the weekly family admin routine. Let children help with plates and vases and leave the insecticide step to an adult, following the product label.

Before a trip, such as the year-end school holidays, do the Saturday and monthly jobs on the day you leave and ask whoever is looking in on the home to do the vases and plates (our suggestion). A week away is longer than NEA’s every-other-day interval for those two jobs.

What about bites, daytime naps and children under 2?

NEA’s dengue cases page says residents, especially those living in dengue cluster areas, should carry out three protective actions, ‘S-A-W’, to prevent mosquito bites. It words them as:

• Spray insecticide in dark corners around the house
• Apply insect repellent regularly
• Wear long-sleeve tops and long pants

NEA also lists other protective measures against mosquito bites: sleep under a mosquito net, especially if you sleep during the day, as Aedes mosquitoes are predominantly day-biting; install mosquito screens on windows and doors; and use a hand-held electronic mosquito zapper to kill mosquitoes. Our inference: the net advice matters for a household with a baby or toddler who naps in the day.

This guide does not cover how to use aerosol insecticide. NEA’s Stop Dengue Now page lists a video on safe and effective use of aerosol insecticide at home, which we have not reviewed.

NEA says repellents containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535 as the active ingredient are the most effective in repelling mosquitoes. Its guidance on mosquito repellents (updated 7 September 2026) says:

• Always read and follow the instructions on the product label.
• For children below 2 years old, use physical protective measures such as mosquito nets or protective clothing where possible.
• Do not allow children to apply the repellent themselves.
• Before first use, test the repellent on a small area of skin, and stop using it if you develop an allergic reaction.
• To apply to the face, dispense the repellent onto your hands first and avoid the eyes and mouth.
• If using a spray, hold the bottle about 15 cm from the skin and do not spray directly into the air.
• If using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first, followed by the repellent.
• Reapply according to the product label; sweating, swimming, getting treated skin wet, or rubbing against clothing may reduce protection.

NEA names anyone diagnosed with or suspected to have dengue among the people who should carry out the S-A-W actions, because mosquito bites are how the disease spreads to more mosquitoes and people.

Is there dengue near our home right now?

NEA says residents living in dengue cluster areas and areas with a high Aedes mosquito population are at higher risk of getting dengue. Its dengue clusters page (updated 17 October 2026; list accurate as at 16 October 2026) defines a cluster as a locality with active transmission, formed when two or more cases have onset within 14 days and are located within 150m of each other, based on residential and workplace addresses. Red means a high-risk area with 10 or more cases, yellow one with fewer than 10 cases, and green no new cases, under surveillance for the next 21 days. Map data is updated at 1am, and the list can be searched by locality.

NEA’s community alert system (page updated 13 April 2026) uses colour-coded banners (purple, red, yellow or green). NEA says to download the myENV app or visit go.gov.sg/dengue-high-risk for alerts on dengue clusters and high Aedes mosquito population near you. On the cases page, NEA also urges residents to allow its officers to inspect their premises and spray insecticide.

Our suggestion: look at the clusters page on Saturday when you do the weekly job, and tell the other carers what you saw.

What to do next

Put the rota in the family diary and note 7 November 2026 as the next monthly job. Recheck NEA’s dengue cases page for newer figures before you rely on the numbers above. More routines are in the routines topic, and if haze is also changing your outdoor plans, see our haze guide for families.

Common questions