Comprehensive Mosquito Prevention

Our vector and disease surveillance program prevents mosquitoes and arthropod-borne diseases from becoming a serious problem. 

Our team...

• Discovers New Sites of Larval Development
• Studies Vector Population Densities and Species Composition
• Assesses the Level of Public Health Risk
• Allocates Control Efforts
• Responds to Public Reports of Infestations

Vector Surveillance

Our staff regularly inspects for mosquitoes in stagnant water in catch basins, vaults, drains, wastewater treatment plants, under buildings, in horse and cattle troughs, pools, ponds, gutters, flood control basins, flower pots, tree holes, abandoned tires, creeks, marshes and estuaries. To catch adult mosquitoes, we use:

• BG Sentinel Traps
• New Jersey Light Traps
• Reiter Gravid Traps
• Carbon Dioxide Traps
• Disease Monitoring

Three types of pathogenic mosquito-borne encephalitis occur in California: Western equine encephalomyelitis, St. Louis encephalitis, and West Nile virus. These viruses are carried by birds and transferred to horses or humans through infected mosquitoes.

Because there are no specific treatments or vaccines for the three diseases, we monitor flocks of sentinel chickens and collect mosquitoes to detect these viruses.