Sacramento Could See More Mosquitoes This Spring After Onslaught Of Wet Weather

Residents of Sacramento have been warned to “beware of mosquitoes,” even during times of drought, but this could be an extreme year for insects in the Sacramento area.

After this year’s dramatic rainfall, the state’s rivers and lakes have flooded and farmlands have been flooded. Standing water accumulates in fields, backyards and roadside ditches, creating perfect conditions for an explosion of mosquito populations that need constant water to breed.

But insects aren’t just nasty, they can carry diseases such as West Nile virus, malaria and yellow fever. Local authorities will track down and alert the public if the virus is found in birds, animals or humans.

With mosquito populations likely to increase this spring and summer, CapRadio’s Vicki Gonzalez spoke with Luz Robles, spokesperson for the Sacramento Yolo Vector Control District, about ways residents can reduce the mosquito influx. Did.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

interview highlights

About the severity of this year’s mosquito epidemic

Mosquito season can be very busy, just for the record. [amount of] It’s raining this year. Every year, it usually rains some time in February, followed by a warmer period. So all this rain will definitely leave a lot of stagnant water, which is definitely something we are concerned about.

It’s still too early to tell what kind of mosquito season it will be, but based on rainfall, it could be a busy season as there are many areas with stagnant water. [in] A common household source, but in general. Roadside ditches, meadows: Many areas are potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and can create a busy season for us.

This year’s mosquito population compared to the previous year

We have laboratories that track all of our mosquito trends and populations…so far the mosquito populations are the same as we’ve seen in the last few years. I know you think rain is definitely effective against large numbers of mosquitoes.

But it’s also important to understand that just because there are a lot of mosquitoes doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a lot of viral activity. Nonetheless, intense levels of West Nile virus activity were seen.

This year, we may see a lot of mosquitoes because of the rain and stagnant water. may become.

But at this point, it’s still a bit too early to say for sure. Our laboratory monitoring activities will begin in early May. That’s when we start tracking West Nile virus activity in bird populations, and when the season really begins.

About the amount required for stagnant water mosquitoes to start breeding

Even small amounts of water from buckets, plant sources, bird baths, kiddie pools, and dog bowls are enough to breed mosquitoes.

In fact, there are invasive mosquitoes that have started to invade our entire area. These mosquitoes require only about a teaspoon of water to start their life cycle. At least once a week, do your part and look around your garden to dump stagnant water and scrub those containers. Because some invasive mosquitoes can lay their eggs along the sides of the container. .

On how invasive mosquitoes differ from native mosquitoes

Two species of invasive mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Aedes aegypti, have been in California since 2011, but were first discovered in our area in 2019. They are slowly spreading to different regions.

What makes these mosquitoes different is that those that bite during the day are more aggressive. Our traditional native mosquitoes usually bite at dawn and dusk. These can be actively chewed all day long.they really like to bite people [over animals]And these mosquitoes can also carry new diseases such as Zika and Dengue. [fever] and chikungunya [virus]. [These are] A disease that is very common in other parts of the world and not necessarily common here in California.

There are no domestically transmitted diseases here, but every year we see imported diseases from other countries. Therefore, it is more likely that these diseases will be seen in the country.

CapRadio provides a reliable news source thanks to you. As a non-profit organization, donations from people like you support journalism that allows our audiences to discover the stories that matter. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, donate today.