Mosquito and Vector Management District Urges Residents to be Vigilant About Mosquitoes
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Mosquito-related news has been making national headlines recently including renowned public health scientist Dr. Anthony Fauci being hospitalized due to a West Nile virus infection, several cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis infections in New England (including a human fatality in New Hampshire) and, recently, 3 cases of locally-acquired Dengue virus were reported from Baldwin Park in Los Angeles County.
These news stories underscore the public health importance of mosquitoes. The Mosquito and Vector Management District of Santa Barbara County wants to assure residents that it remains vigilant in conducting mosquito management operations to reduce the public health risk from mosquitoes and also urges residents to be proactive when it comes to protecting themselves from mosquitoes and eliminating mosquito breeding sources around their homes.
“Although we don’t have widespread mosquito infestations in our area, there are still places locally that have problems with mosquitoes,” says District General Manager Dr. Brian Cabrera. “Local saltwater marshes, lakes, ponds, and creeks where the water has stopped flowing and sources of shallow, stagnant water are typical sources for mosquitoes,” he adds. Non-natural sources, such as neglected swimming pools and hot tubs and other containers and objects that hold stagnant water also provide perfect habitats for mosquito breeding. “You can find mosquitoes breeding in things like old tires, buckets, plates under potted plants, bird baths – really, anything that holds water,” Cabrera explains.
He also says that residents can play a major role in helping the Mosquito District “Fight the Bite”. Preventing mosquitoes from breeding can actually be very simple, but it requires vigilance. “Even for people like me, who aren’t great at math, there’s a very easy formula to remember that can be used to stop mosquitoes from breeding: No water = No mosquitoes. So, all you have to do is empty, drain or dump out anything around your home that’s holding standing water. Without water, mosquitoes can’t develop – that’s a fact.”
Mosquito District operations include inspecting and treating mosquito breeding sources, responding to mosquito complaints and reports of mosquito breeding sources, conducting mosquito surveillance trapping, testing mosquitoes for harmful viruses and providing mosquitofish free of charge for residents in the District’s service zones to put in their backyard ponds and other water features.
Residents can call the District at 805-969-5050 to report mosquito problems, neglected pools, request mosquitofish, or for questions about mosquitoes. For more information, visit the Mosquito District’s website at: https://www.mvmdistrict.org/