Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control
In This Issue
A DAY IN THE LIFE...A Candid Look at How the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District Protects Public Health
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Contra Costa County Fair
Antioch
Antioch Fairgrounds
May 29 - June 1
 
Pittsburg Health & Safety Fair
Pittsburg City Hall
June 6
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
 
King of the County BBQ 
Martinez
7 N. Court Street
June 14-15
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m
 
Friends of Marsh Creek
Brentwood
20 Oak Street
June 19
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. 

  

Dana Estates Night Out 
4115 Concord Blvd.
Concord
June 25
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

  

Farmer's Market
Brentwood
July 12
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 
 
Farmer's Market
Concord
August 5
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

  

East Contra Costa County Emergency Preparedness Fair
2350 Jeffery Way
Brentwood
August  23
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
 
Pittsburg Seafood Festival
Pittsburg
September 6-7
Time to be determined
 
Lafayette Art & Wine Festival
Lafayette
September 20-21
Time to be determined
 
  
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Contact us now to schedule an event or presentation.

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

 

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?

 

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

 

Historical.

Fascinating.

Educational.

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.  
We STILL Need Your Empty Coffee Cans for our Mosquitofish Program

You recycle, we save tax payers' money, and the fish have safe transportation to your home. Win! Win! Win!

 

This informative video details how to properly apply mosquito repellent to your skin and/or clothing, proper precautions to take, and how to apply these products to children.

 

  

 
An excellent video courtesy of Bayer that details the importance of mosquito control in your community.
 
 
 
This video explains the importance of dead bird surveillance and reporting in the fight against West Nile virus in California. It explains how to report and safely dispose of a dead bird, whether you find it at home or in a public place. The video provides both the dead bird hotline number 1-877-968-2473 and the website.
 
 
Volunteering your own arm to blood-thirsty mosquitoes - do people really do that?
Indeed. And it is all in the name of science.

  

 
One mosquito. One bite. That's all it takes to change someone's life forever. The threat of mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis has risen in recent years and the effects on human life can be devastating. 
 
Watch this powerful, incredibly moving video about people whose lives were impacted by mosquito-borne illness and told through their personal stories.

 

 
Learn how our free services pertaining to rats and mice can benefit homeowners in Contra Costa County who have issues with rodents in or around their property. 
 
 
A brief video detailing the amazing life of a disease-transmitting insect - the mosquito! 
 
 
Mosquito Bytes 
May 2014
   
  
Sometimes it's like finding a needle in a hay stack-searching for the countless places where mosquitos could lay eggs and increase the risk of mosquito-borne illness including West Nile virus in Contra Costa County. But that's exactly what the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District's 14 mosquito inspectors, technicians, and vector control aides face everyday. In this month's edition of Mosquito Bytes, get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to search Contra Costa County's 725 square miles for the insects that can do more than bug you-they can make you sick.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

A Candid Look at How the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District Protects Public Health 

 

With the long, warm days of May, the activities designed to protect public health in Contra Costa County are in full swing. The men and women of the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District are out daily as they search for vectors and work to prevent vector-borne disease. Where do they search? And what do they do when they find mosquitoes, rats, mice, skunks, or yellowjackets?  This month we take  a closer look at a day in the life of the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District employees who are responsible for mosquito control. 

District trucks are ready for a full day of mosquito surveillance and control.

Each weekday morning, the District's state certified public health inspectors and technicians hit the road. They head out to points near to and far from the District offices in Concord as they pursue ways to prevent vectors and protect public health. Protecting public health has been the District's mission since 1927.

 

Twice a month, primarily on Mondays, Vector Ecologists Damien Clauson and Eric Ghilarducci visit all of the District's sentinel chicken flocks to test them for West Nile virus

Vector Ecologists Damien Clauson and Eric Ghilarducci test chickens for West Nile virus, May 5, 2014, in Holland Tract.

As West Nile virus is a disease that starts in birds, chickens can acquire the virus, but they do not get sick and cannot pass it on. District employees test a small amount of blood from each chicken's comb to determine if it has been exposed to West Nile virus. If the chicken tests positive, District inspectors and technicians know where to focus efforts to stop the virus. The District has five flocks located around Contra Costa County that often serve as the first signs of virus in a particular area.

Vector Control Technician Chris Doll uses an amphibious vehicle to access areas of water that can produce mosquitoes, May 5, 2014, in Holland Tract.

But no matter where in the county mosquitoes are found, they must all develop from egg to adult in water. That is why Vector Control Technician Chris Doll uses an amphibious vehicle known as an ARGO to conduct mosquito surveillance in difficult to reach areas that contain water such as a marsh or wetland. Doll uses a specially designed cup attached to pole to dip into the water-logged marshland. If mosquitoes are developing in the water, he will see them in the cup and use the most environmentally responsible course of action to deal with the mosquitoes. Typically, when young mosquitoes are present in the water, District technicians and inspectors use a public health larvicide to kill the young mosquitoes without harming other wildlife, and then may place mosquito-eating fish in the water to keep the area mosquito-free long term. 

 

Mosquitofish are a natural way to fight mosquitoes in areas that are consistently wet, like a marsh or wetland. They are especially efficient in neglected swimming pools that can produce one million mosquitoes and put people up to five miles away from the pool at risk of West Nile virus. Each fish can eat up to 500 larvae per day. 

Vector Control Technician Chris Doll prepares to place mosquito-eating fish in marsh water, May 5, 2014, in Holland Tract.

It's a good thing mosquitofish are so productive, because mosquitoes can lay up to 400 eggs in just two tablespoons of water. Mosquitoes look for areas of water, both large and small, in which to lay those eggs. And within as few as five short days, those eggs can develop from egg to adult mosquitoes, specifically female mosquitoes that are able to transmit diseases including West Nile virus to people. 

Vector Control Technician Chris Doll inspects standing water in a channel for signs of mosquito larvae, May 5, 2014, in Holland Tract.

 

In an effort to stay one step ahead of these potentially dangerous insects, District inspectors and technicians travel across Contra Costa County daily to conduct mosquito surveillance on numerous natural and man-made sources. They start with the sources they know about while always on the lookout for new potential sources of mosquitoes. 

 

And many sources may not seem obvious. Something as simple as a cemetery vase can produce hundreds of mosquitoes.  Rain or sprinkler water can fill the vases giving mosquitoes a perfect place to lay hundreds of eggs.

Vector Control Inspector Joe Hummel siphons water from a cemetery flower pot in search of mosquito larvae, May 5, 2014, in Concord.

When District inspectors find water in the vases, they siphon some of the water into a sample jar so that they can look for mosquito larvae. If they find larvae in the water, a District inspector such as Joe Hummel, will use a granular larvicide to control the current larvae, and talk with cemetery workers about using an absorbent material that can fill vases and prevent water from collecting in the future. 

 

Accumulated water in backyard items including flower pot saucers, buckets, tarps, toys, birdbaths, fountains, and sump pumps can be the number one source of mosquitoes in Contra Costa County. That is why it is so important for residents to regularly dump out any standing water in front or back yards to prevent mosquitoes. 

Vector Control Inspector Josefa Cabada shows a resident a potential source of mosquitoes, May 5, 2014, in Pittsburg.

For residents who experience mosquitoes even after dumping out every known source of water on their property, the District can provide a free inspection to determine where mosquitoes are coming from. Prior to contacting the District, the resident needs to place a dead mosquito into a clear Ziploc style bag. The dead mosquito serves as a sample that provides District inspectors including Josefa Cabada with important clues on where to look for the source of a particular type of mosquito. 

 

Sometimes, natural sources that have not been a source of mosquitoes in the past can become a new source of mosquitoes due to change. In this case, beavers have built a dam that prohibits creek water from flowing. Moving water tends to dissuade mosquitoes from laying eggs in that location because mosquito larvae are poor swimmers that drown easily since they must stay at the surface of the water to access air. If they are jostled in the water and cannot access air, they cannot survive. But in this part of Kirker Creek, a beaver dam has stopped water from flowing; creating a perfect place for mosquitoes to develop. To prevent mosquitoes, Cabada places mosquitofish in the water to eat young mosquitoes and prevent them from developing into adult mosquitoes that could spread disease.

Vector Control Inspector Josefa Cabada prepares to place mosquito-eating fish in Kirker Creek, May 5, 2014, in Pittsburg.

In the case of the beaver dam, animals turned a natural creek into a mosquito habitat. In other cases, man-made sources can produce mosquitoes as is the case with some detention ponds. They are built in residential areas to prevent flooding due to over irrigation and rainwater that can overwhelm storm drains, but these ponds are frequently not maintained to prevent mosquitoes. The vegetation that commonly grows in various types of mitigation ponds creates a challenge to mosquito control because it provides mosquitoes with innumerable places to hide. To rectify problems, the District continues to work with residential developers, city and county officials  to reduce mosquito production in detention ponds.

Vector Control Inspector Josefa Cabada prepares to inspect a detention pond for mosquitoes, May 5, 2014, in Bay Point.

Large or small, near or far, mosquitoes are constantly on the lookout for places to increase their population, consequently increasing the risk of mosquito-borne disease. That is why the men and women of the Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District work daily, to find those places mosquitoes like to call home. By giving mosquitoes fewer places to lay their eggs the District's mosquito control inspectors, technicians, and vector control aides take great strides in protecting public health.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of Mosquito Bytes with a closer look at the work the District's mosquito control inspectors, technicians, and vector control aides do on a daily basis. Next month, we'll take a closer look at the work our vertebrate inspectors due to prevent the diseases rats, mice, and skunks can transmit. 

In the meantime, please contact us with your thoughts, questions, concerns, or ideas for future articles. We always love hearing 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