Aerial insecticide plan announced to curb rural mosquito populations

Insecticide will be sprayed from a helicopter this week over a rural patch of land just north of the Salton Sea, where mosquito populations are expected to boom, officials announced today.

Residents shouldn’t be worried about exposure though, as the aerial mists starting on Thursday will be in such low volumes — combined with natural degradation of the insecticide — that they will not harm any animals larger than an insect, Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District (CVMVCD)
spokeswoman Jill Oviatt said.

The EPA-approved Aqua-Reslin used in the helicopter misting process likely won’t kill off local bee population, Oviatt added, since the pollinators usually fly during the daytime hours and the misting project will take place between 8 p.m. and midnight.

Misting is expected to be completed Saturday and will cover a rural stretch of land bordering Highway 111, Wheeler and Johnson Street. Treating that area will eliminate a potentially deadly rash of mosquitoes expected this year as a result of the heavy winter rains that have pounded the Coachella
Valley over the past couple months.

“A combination of an unusually wet winter and a spike in temperatures could result in increased mosquito-borne virus activity, such as West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis,” officials from the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District said.

The CVMVCD has been trapping twice the number of mosquitoes this year than normal, compared to a five-year average.

Besides using Aqua-Reslin to kill adult mosquitoes, officials also are asking Coachella Valley residents to do their part by draining any standing water to help eliminate breeding and nesting grounds. Other virus prevention techniques include: checking rain gutters for trapped water, avoiding the outdoors between dawn and dusk, wearing EPA registered mosquito repellant and long-sleeved shirts, and ensuring that window and door screens do not have any holes that the bugs can crawl in through.

“If people make mosquito prevention a weekly routine, just like taking out the trash, that’s when we will see real reductions in mosquitoes,” Oviatt said.

While no deadly mosquito-related viruses were reported in the Coachella Valley last year, the California Department of Public Health noted 218 West Nile virus cases statewide — 11 of which were fatal.

Stagnant water sources can be reported to CVMVCD officials at 760-342-8287.