Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control
In This Issue
Overwatering increases risk of West Nile virus
New mosquito species poses a more serious threat than West Nile virus
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Events & Presentations 

  

Contact us now to schedule an Event or Presentation for 2013!

 
We speak to groups, associations, school children and business personnel about mosquitoes, ticks, skunks, rats, and yellowjackets. FREE. 

 

Scheduled Events & Presentations

 

Boy Scout Day Camp
Moraga
August 6, 2013
8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
 
Brentwood Emergency Preparedness Fair
Brentwood
August 24, 2013
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 
 
Pittsburg Seafood Festival
September 7 - 8, 2013
Time to be announced 
 
Lafayette Art & Wine Festival
September 21 - 22, 2013
Time to be announced

For more information, please contact Nola Woods at

925-771-6158  
 

 

Mosquito Control Matters video 

Have you ever seen a mosquito hatch from its egg and grow to a winged adult, morphing from its pupated state and rising majestically from below the water's surface to its top? We didn't think so! 

 

Or how about a visualization of West Nile virus crossing the country in just five short years?

 

Introducing our Mosquito Control Matters video. You'll see fantastic mosquito life cycle footage and learn why mosquito control matters in California.

 

Historical.

Fascinating.

Educational.

 

Check it out! 

Call to Action: Forward this newsletter to a friend. 

Please help us fight the bite. Tell a friend!    

Neglected Swimming Pools are a health threat. 

Report them to us. Feeling shy? No problem! We take anonymous phone calls and electronic reports.
One neglected swimming pool, even partially filled, can produce more than 1 million mosquitoes and affect people up to five miles away.  

Got empty cans and lids? We need them for our mosquitofish program

 
You recycle. We save tax payers' money. Fish have safe transportation to your home. Win! Win! Win!
Mosquito Bytes 
July 2013
   
  
Our two topics this month are independently worthy of their own feature and we ask that you share this important information with your family and friends. West Nile virus is very active and there are steps you can take to help reduce your risk of getting this disease. Something as simple as saving water can greatly impact mosquito production and ultimately possible disease transmission. We are serious when we say that working together is the best alliance against mosquito-borne disease. We need your help to reduce standing water and to look for mosquitoes. In fact, there's a new species in nearby Madera that could make its way to our communities. Let's all keep a keen eye out for this striped beauty, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, that poses a more serious threat than West Nile virus.

OVERWATERING INCREASES RISK OF WEST NILE VIRUS

Easy steps to keep lush, green lawns, without creating disease risk

 

Sprinkler waters green lawn

Overwatering has long been a challenge facing mosquito control experts. Too much water on the land prevents the water from absorbing into the soil and instead provides mosquitoes ample locations to lay up to 400 eggs at a time. In turn, those mosquitoes become flying, biting adults that can threaten people and animals with West Nile Virus. Overwatering was once a common practice in the agriculture industry, but has changed in recent years. Some farmers now use drip irrigation to maximize water efficiency and minimize mosquito-producing water sources reducing the risk of mosquito-borne illness for workers and nearby residents.

 

Ironically, the tide has turned, says Greg Howard of the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District (District). Howard, a mosquito program supervisor, has spent many years working with commercial irrigation operators to decrease the amount of mosquito habitat. But, even outside of the agricultural domain, mosquito populations are plentiful.  Homeowners have taken it upon themselves in recent years to proactively flood their own front and back yards in search of that emerald green landscape. However, the same challenges that faced commercial operations are now facing neighborhoods across Contra Costa County.

 

"We often find front yards that are streaming excess water into the catch basins, also known as storm drains," says Howard. "The problem is those catch basins are designed to relocate storm water during the winter months and stay dry during the summer. Daily sprinkler water accumulates in the gutters year-round and we continue to find mosquitoes capable of transmitting West Nile virus right under our feet."  

 

Just last year, Howard and his team of state-certified mosquito inspectors encountered a serious threat to public health, a result of residential overwatering. The runoff collected in a detention basin near Heron Park in Brentwood kept the ponds flooded year-round. As a result, vegetation grew plentiful and provided harborage for developing mosquitoes. The dense foliage made mosquito control very challenging and increased the risk of mosquito-borne illness for the surrounding residents.

 

In Heron Park's situation, the District continues to work with Brentwood officials, county flood control officials, and property developers to find a way to clear the vegetation. Last year, they used the unique solution of vegetation-devouring goats that allowed mosquito control to resume. When it comes to this year's overflowing water in front and back yards, Howard suggests homeowners follow the recommendations from the Lawn & Landscape Watering Schedule from the Contra Costa Water District. Their recommendations include the following:

  • Take special care with clay soil as it needs fewer and shorter cycles to allow water to soak in.
  • Periodically check working sprinklers to make sure they maintain intended coverage.
  • Choose early morning hours to water because it maximizes absorption of the water that can be lost during midday watering or afternoon evaporation.
  • Be mindful that plants located in shade locations typically require 50% less water.
  • Water lawns appropriately. Lawns generally need no more than four days of sprinkler water per week. Please refer to the Contra Costa Water District Brochure for exact times and intervals.   

"The fact is, it is possible to keep a beautiful lawn while reducing the risk of mosquitoes. You can do both.  Just give the lawn what it needs without giving mosquitoes what they need," says Howard.

NEW MOSQUITO SPECIES POSES A MORE SERIOUS THREAT OF DISEASE THAN WEST NILE VIRUS

Yellow fever mosquito discovered near Fresno

 

Aedes aegypti mosquito
Aedes aegypti mosquito can transmit yellow fever, dengue fever and other debilitating and sometimes fatal diseases

New types of mosquitoes are constantly on the move and with them come the threat of new diseases. That is why a critical component of the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District's effort to protect public health is to watch for new mosquito species and work to prevent them from establishing a presence within the county. Today, the District's surveillance and control program is more important than ever because a new mosquito species has landed in two nearby counties, prompting District employees to work harder than ever to make sure this new mosquito doesn't establish here.

 

According to the Mosquito & Vector Control Association of California, public health employees in Madera and Fresno Counties have detected the Aedes aegypti mosquito which is also known as the yellow fever mosquito because it is a primary transmitter of the disease. It can also transmit other mosquito-borne illnesses including dengue fever and chikungunya; and the potential risk could be greater with this mosquito because of the globe-trotting nature of many California residents.

 

"This mosquito actually gets yellow fever directly from infected humans, so Aedes aegypti can easily spread disease from person to person," says the District's Scientific Programs Supervisor Steve Schutz, Ph.D.

 

"And because many people travel between the Bay Area and parts of the world where yellow fever, dengue fever and chickungunya are endemic every day, if we had that mosquito here, the risk of mosquito-borne illness would definitely increase."

 

Even without the Aedes aegypti, Contra Costa County is already home to 23 types of mosquitoes including two types that are very efficient at transmitting West Nile virus. Culex pipiens and Culex tarsalis mosquitoes are native to the county and are the principal transmitters of West Nile virus. However, pipiens and tarsalis mosquitoes cannot spread West Nile virus directly from human to human. They must first acquire the disease from infected birds. The ease with which the Aedes aegypti can transmit disease and the mere 120 miles between Madera and Contra Costa Counties are causes for concern.

 

The effort to keep new mosquitoes with new disease risks from migrating throughout the state is a war waged by California's Mosquito and Vector Control Districts every day. For two years, public health employees in Southern California have been working to prevent the Asian tiger mosquito from traveling from its last known location, approximately 350 miles from Contra Costa County. The Aedes albopictus is capable of spreading dengue fever, which is also known as "bone break fever" because of the pain associated with the disease. It is also a disease spread from human to human by this mosquito, making it another mosquito we definitely don't want in our county.

 

"Diseases that mosquitoes can easily spread from human to human are much more likely to become an epidemic than those that require an intermediate host like a bird," says Schutz. "That's why the trapping, inspections and overall surveillance we do today to try to prevent these new mosquitoes from establishing themselves is so important because preventing a mosquito is easier than controlling it later."   

We hope you enjoyed this issue of Mosquito Bytes. Please contact us with your thoughts, questions, concerns, or ideas for future articles. We'd love to hear from you!

Be well!

Enthusiastically,

Deborah Bass

Public Affairs Manager

 

Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control

155 Mason Circle  *  Concord, CA  94520

925-771-6183

www.ContraCostaMosquito.com

http://twitter.com/CCMosquito

[email protected]

Protecting Public Health Since 1927