Prepare for West Nile Virus season as temperatures heat up

The Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District encourages area residents to prepare now for West Nile virus season by protecting themselves from potential mosquito bites. With no cure available, West Nile virus is a serious and potentially fatal illness transmitted through the bite of a female mosquito. Although West Nile Virus has not yet been detected in Placer County this season, the district's public information officer Meagan Luevano said, the virus has been detected in Yolo and Sacramento counties. A dead bird that tested positive for West Nile virus was found two weeks ago in Davis and a positive pool of mosquitoes was found last week in Carmichael, according to Luevano.. "The detections are super close to us," Luevano said. "These detections are not that much earlier than our detections last season. Our first West Nile virus positive mosquito sample was June 23 last year." Placer County had one human case of the virus last year. West Nile virus seasons are similar in nearby counties. "We're in the preventative stage where we're doing aerial larvicide treatments in the western Placer agricultural areas to prevent the emergence of adult mosquitoes in the county," Luevano said. The current treatments are west of Roseville to Pleasant Grove up to Sheridan. "The larvicide treatments are not in urban areas or over any houses," Luevano said. "The treatments' purpose is to reduce the risk of adult mosquitoes that are positive with the virus from leaving the rice fields and traveling to urban areas where they have the ability to bite people and spread disease. We try to stop mosquitoes before they become adults." Also, weekly throughout the county, the district's vector and disease surveillance program traps and tests mosquitoes. The district uses the results to assess the risk to residents, inform the public and make preventative or responsive vector control treatments to protect public health. Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District staff will also respond to residents' problem reports. "If people are experiencing unusual mosquito activity, our technicians will come out and look for the breeding source and make suggestions or potentially do treatments," Luevano said. "Since May 1, 83 service requests have been taken throughout the county and responded to. Technicians have responded to mosquito larvae in ponds, which are treated with mosquito fish and mostly other standing-water requests." Another free Mosquito and Vector Control District service provided to Placer County residents is community outreach, which includes monthly newsletters and treatment schedules on its website at placermosquito.org. While the district is carrying out its preventative steps, district officials say it's crucial that residents do their part to prevent mosquito bites. "Make sure you protect yourself by dumping and draining standing water on your property to prevent mosquito breeding," Luevano said," and wear an EPA-registered repellent that contains ingredients like DEET and Picaridin." Anyone who might have a mosquito problem is asked to submit a problem report on the district website at https://placermosquito.org. The district also encourages residents to submit dead bird reports to WestNile.CA.gov or 1-877-WNV-BIRD. "If you find a dead bird, call the statewide hotline because that's the first sign there might be West Nile circulating around the area," Luevano said. For more information, contact the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District at 916-380-5444 or placermosquito.org. Follow the district on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @placermosquito. For a list of EPA-registered repellents, visit placermosquito.org/repellent or cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html.