Standing water a threat
Mosquitos are on the hunt for standing water. So is vector control.
“We have our equipment calibrated. We have teams going out hitting our structures that will hold water,” said Rod Chamberlain of the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control.
Standing water you see on the side of roads and in washes…
“Thats our responsibility. Catch basins, inlets you see, a lot of them have underground holding areas, they’re designed to capture storm water,” Chamberlain said.
It takes three to five days for standing water to get dangerous.
“Thats why we kind of get in preparation for everything that’s flushed out now. The basins full of water. The ones containing water for a few days to a week, that what we’re concerned about,” Chamberlain said.
Wednesday is day three, so if there’s standing water around your home, act now.
“In your backyards, dump out containers of any standing water you have. It’s too soon for any serious breeding for mosquitoes to got through their cycle to become adults. If you dump it out now you will have no problem at all,” Chamberlain said.
Eduardo Bicamonte lives in Las Brisas Apartments, home to a lot of standing water right now. He’s done his part.
“I emptied all my buckets I swept all my sidewalks and everything to not create any mosquitoes on it,” Bicamonte said.
So far this year in the Coachella Valley, 21 mosquitoes and seven chickens tested positive for west nile virus. No humans tested positive, and vector control wants to keep it that way. The less water to attract mosquitoes, the safer we all are.
