LAKEPORT, Calif. – Four more mosquito samples collected this week in Lake County have tested positive for West Nile Virus.
All of the positive mosquito samples this week were the same species – the Western Encephalitis Mosquito (Culex tarsalis) – according to Lake County Vector Control.
The positive mosquitoes were collected from four different locations: Clearlake Oaks, Anderson Marsh State Historic Park, south of Kelseyville near Highway 175 and near Upper Lake, the district reported.
A total of nine mosquito samples from Lake County have tested positive for West Nile Virus this year. No other West Nile Virus activity has been reported in Lake County in 2012.
Lake County Vector Control District regularly traps and tests mosquitoes throughout the county to identify the areas that are at highest risk, and targets those areas for source reduction and treatment.
Jamesina J. Scott, Ph.D., the district manager and research director of the Lake County Vector Control District, said 2012 has already been a very active year for West Nile Virus, “and the West Nile Virus season still has at least another month to go.
She reminds residents that the two most important things they can do are: 1) dump out any standing water where mosquitoes develop, and 2) if you must be outside when mosquitoes are active, use a mosquito repellent (and always read and follow the label directions).
One neglected – or “green” – pool can produce more than 1,000,000 mosquitoes per week, and those mosquitoes can fly up to five miles.
The district recommends that residents avoid being outside when mosquitoes are active, especially near dusk and dawn; wear long sleeves and pants and use a mosquito repellent (always read and follow label directions) if they are outside when mosquitoes are active; and dump out buckets, wading pools and other sources of water where mosquitoes develop.
Lake County Vector Control provides free mosquito-eating fish to Lake County residents for use in animal water troughs, ornamental ponds and out-of-service swimming pools.
To report neglected pools or request assistance with a mosquito problem call the district for assistance at 707-263-4770 or visit www.lcvcd.org .
For more information about West Nile Virus, visit www.westnile.ca.gov/ .