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| March 31, 2006 Standing water from winter storms, warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours spell two "B" words for mosquitoes: breeding and blood-sucking. Medical entomologists at the University of California, Davis, and area mosquito abatement districts are adding another: "beware." Mosquito season, and with it the West Nile virus (WNV), is arriving earlier this year, officials say. Culex mosquitoes, principal carriers of the disease, are ordinarily most active in California from April to October, but unseasonable spring-like weather has sent a wake-up call early this year, says medical entomologist Gregory Lanzaro, director of the UC Mosquito Research Program, director of the UC Davis Center for Vectorborne Diseases, and a professor of entomology. Found in all 58 counties in the state, the disease last year killed 18 people in California and infected more than 900 others. Control districts in the state are gearing up for the onslaught, urging residents to take the following measures: Clean out birdbaths and fountains once or twice a week. Stock fish ponds with larvae-eating mosquitofish and remove excess vegetation near ponds and yards. (Females like to lay their eggs in algae at the edge of the pond, and adult mosquitoes like to rest in dense shrubbery.) Use non-toxic "dunks" (doughnut-shaped pellets) or "BTI" to kill mosquito larvae in larger ponds. Clean clogged roof gutters. Overturn wheelbarrows and plastic wading pools. Drill holes in backyard containers for drainage. Keep water fresh in pet bowls. Maintain swimming pools and spas with chemicals and filters. Remove trash like discarded tires, cans, cups, tin foil, plastic and paper. Adjust tarps for maximum runoff. Fill tree holes with dirt or cement. Empty water in dumpsters, trash cans and recycle bins and overturn the lids. Use yellow "bug lights," outdoors. The experts say even the plastic sheeting that landscapers place under bark or rock to prevent weeds from poking through can be a "water bed" for mosquitoes. Sheeting should be replaced with landscaping fabric that prevents weeds yet allows drainage. Details: 800-429-1022, www.fightthebite.net; (530) 752-6983, www.ucmrp.ucdavis.edu; or (916) 440-0826, www.mvcac.org.
Contact: |
UC Mosquito Research Program - Department of Entomology - UC Davis - UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616
© 2006, The Regents of the
University of California.
Comments or Questions: Nancy Dullum, Program Assistant
Last updated:
04/03/2006