While recent headlines are about the Zika virus, the mosquito experts here are gearing up to control the spread of a different virus: West Nile.
As the hot weather makes a comeback, so are mosquitoes. You can see the bugs in one South Meadows pond. Still water like this is larvae territory. Jim Shaffer of the Washoe County Health District has been fighting mosquitoes for 39 years now, and today was wearing his war gear again: a green jumpsuit. As he told us, "If you're an entomologist or biologist...you don't want to chase insects...you want to be in front of them."
The little biters that can spread a very dangerous disease are showing up again. The District’s Terran Drescher told us, "They're all over the place. We go out and take samples with a dipstick, and we find a bunch of larvae."
These are the wetlands of Damonte Ranch. The big rains we had in the first week of May, less than a month ago, created more backyard breeding grounds. And simply put, the more water, the more mosquitoes. What we're seeing now is another incubator for West Nile this summer. To stop them, the health district drops “Vectolex FG,” a biological control agent. Harmless to humans, but toxic to mosquito larvae, it’s loaded into a tank attached to a rented helicopter. The Health District’s Will Lumpkin told us, "It’s not even toxic to beneficial insects or fish. Strictly mosquito larvae."
After takeoff, we watched, as it made pass after pass over standing water pools. This granular application as they call it, is focusing on Washoe County's wettest spots. Today, 500 acres. Lumpkin says, "500 acres will impact a lot of the community. We're basically spot-treating the worse areas."
The helicopter attacks are being done just in time. Soon things will really warm up, and it won't be long before the mosquitoes are on the warpath. Shaffer told us, "They'll go from egg to adult in a 7 day period, if it’s hot enough, like if it’s over 80 degrees." Lumpkin agreed: "The heat definitely increases mosquito populations."
The county is trying to stay a step ahead, but they can't stop every single dive bombing devil. They also trap some, to test if West Nile is with them. Shaffer says, “They can give us those results within a 24-48 hour period."
So far it hasn't shown up. And neither has the Zika virus, which could make an appearance here. Lumpkin told us, "It’s still a possibility because it’s such a small world to travel. We could see it, potentially."
