Ongoing mosquito reduction in the area

The Eastside Mosquito Extermination Area has now identified a whole new threat to the area, as if the pandemic was not enough to address 2020. Aedes aegypti landed in Modesto and expanded its reach to Stanislaus County.

Aedes aegypti, a new mosquito species, He was trapped in Modesto in July and infected with the same vectors as Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya.

This new mosquito grows in small containers in residential areas and often in the home, unlike other Aedes aegypti that grow in pastures. It bites people exclusively and does so during the day.

It may be worrisome to discover new mosquito species that can carry dangerous viruses, but the inhabitants noticed a huge amount of nasty blood suckers swarming unprotected hosts the moment they went out. maybe.

“The large amount was consistent with the shaking of the almond trees,” shared Dr. J. Wakoliwekesa, district manager / entomologist in the Eastside Mosquito Eradication District.

If you thought you were imagining a mosquito surge, it wasn’t. A number of hungry mosquitoes actually exploded, causing aggressive herds near local parks and water.

It is a problem every year that the Eastside Mosquito Extermination Area calls to treat the problem area and continues to dispatch an extermination team.

According to Dr. Wekesa, the area has an active program to monitor mosquitoes. Capture adults and monitor the number of larvae and adult mosquitoes in the area so that they can act before major mosquito problems occur. Surveillance is conducted weekly to identify captured mosquitoes and test for West Nile virus. Another mosquito control program consists of work involving two technicians, one focusing on finding ground-based breeding sources and applying larval control agents to control them before they hatch. The other will focus on the underground and one engineer will perform curb rigging work to eliminate mosquitoes in underground rainwater pipes Parks, roadside ditches, drainage ditches of underground systems on roads, waterways, Wetland.

“Occasionally, especially when adult mosquitoes grow in the neighborhood from nearby orchards, the district sprays adult mosquitoes to kill adult mosquitoes and keeps people from being bitten in the town,” Dr. Wekesa said. explained. “There are also two planes that the district uses to spray open fields on the outskirts of the town to reduce the bitter pressure on people.”

Spraying pesticides is an ongoing process to keep mosquito numbers low.

“This year was a tough year for all of us, especially the inhabitants of our county and the surrounding counties,” admitted Dr. Wekesa.

To control the invasion of mosquitoes, it is important to remove standing water to avoid providing optimal breeding grounds.

“Mosquitoes need standing water to grow, without standing water there are no mosquitoes, so what people can do to reduce standing water within three days is certainly us. Will significantly improve the quality of life of people, “Dr. Wekesa said. “Our agriculture relies heavily on irrigation water, so such water often lasts for weeks and is a major source of unnatural mosquito breeding. Mosquito mitigation methods are such property. Gives the district a remedy to mitigate its owners. Mitigation creates penalties for those property that produce mosquitoes. This remedy has never been used, but the district protects its inhabitants. Such an approach can be a viable last resort. “

Individual residents can actively remove containers, broken chairs, boats and other items that may hold water. Clean and maintain the swimming pool and maintain the sprinkler as well.

For more information on mosquitoes control or to report an invasion, call East Side Mosquito Abatement at (209) 522-4098.