San Diego County’s Vector Control Program will conduct two mosquito-fighting larvicide drops this week after recent heat waves and high tides increased insect populations, the county announced Monday.
Vector Control staff will conduct their fifth aerial application of the summer on Wednesday, using a helicopter to drop batches of a granular larvicide on about 48 rivers, streams, ponds and other waterways.
Vector Control uses aerial applications to abate mosquitoes that could potentially transmit West Nile virus, according to the county.
On Saturday, staff will conduct a smaller drop on portions of Los Penasquitos Lagoon and San Elijio Lagoon in Cardiff to reduce saltwater mosquito numbers.
High tides can expand lagoon water into areas that are normally dry, creating new pockets of stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed, especially when combined with rising temperatures.
The county treats more than 1,000 acres of waterways, stretching from Chula Vista in the south to Fallbrook in the North and Oceanside in the west to Lakeside in the east.
–City News Service