Santa Cruz County Mosquito and Vector Control trying to take the sting out of a wet winter
When the sun comes out during Spring so does the Springtime pests.
The Santa Cruz County Vector Control is reminding residents there's a lot of stagnant water in backyards and now is a good time to get rid of it.
About 30 inches of rain was recorded in Santa Cruz this year which means there's plenty of standing water out there for mosquitoes to breed.
"All of these small puddles and ditches and drainages- They're breeding right now," said Paul Binding, the Santa Cruz County Mosquito & Vector Control manager.
These puddles of water are keeping the Santa Cruz County Mosquito and Vector Control District busy. They're treating them organically and reminding residents that they can help by doing their part.
"People need to be concerned about water standing in their own yards. The containers such as fountains and buckets the saucers under plants perhaps a neglected spa or swimming pool and tarps and tires; anything that collects water children's toys. It's all got to be dumped and drained," reminded Binding.
Many people are already aware and know the remedy is fairly simple.
"I haven't seen a mosquito yet, but you know, I've got such a small yard I just walk around and kick anything over that's got water in it," said Ernie Castro of Santa Cruz.
"I'm not really having to do anything because the lot we're on when we built the house is tilted so water drains to the driveway and then out to the street," said Bob Fosburgh of Santa Cruz.
Vector Control recommends that everyone should make a thorough inspection of their home and yard and empty any standing water that has accumulated. Ideally this should be done once a week.
Even a bottle cap is big enough to become a breeding ground.
While a mosquito bite is a nuisance it can also spread disease like West Nile Virus.
"It's actually a bird virus that infects birds but then a mosquito can bite and infect a bird and then bite a person and so than the type of mosquito that carries West Nile virus is the type that breeds in backyards," said Binding.
The vector control district is funded by property taxes and provides consultations, inspections and even delivers free mosquito-eating fish for your troughs and ponds.
Santa Cruz County has declared next week, "Mosquito Awareness week" and as part of it, they are asking people to "Dump and Drain" any standing water that has collected after this rainfall to "Fight the Bite".
And during Earth Day on Sunday, April 28, in downtown Watsonville, Vector Control will have a booth set-up to answer questions about mosquitos, rats and other pests.