Rain, rain go away!
If you listen closely, you just might hear your neighbors singing this song as winter, followed by spring rainfall placed Northern California at 104 percent of normal precipitation. And where there is water, there can be mosquitoes.
All mosquitoes need water. With so much rain having fallen over the last few months, there is plenty of water and moisture to spare. That means now is the time to take steps to reduce mosquito bites and the risk of mosquito-borne illness.
- Dump out standing water including water that has collected in cans, buckets and other containers on your property.
- Clean out vegetation and other debris that have collected in house gutters to allow water to flow freely and prevent mosquitoes.
- Visit the District to pick up mosquitofish for residential ponds and non-functioning swimming pools.
- Repair broken sprinklers now to prevent standing later when you turn on landscaping irrigation.
If you want to safely save rainwater to help maintain landscaping once the rain presumably stops this summer, then watch this video on how to collect rain water without mosquitoes.
And if, in spite of your best efforts you find you are being bitten by mosquitoes while on your property, contact the District to request service for mosquitoes.
The bottom line is, a little work now can go a long way to reduce the risk of mosquito bites and mosquito-borne illness including West Nile virus later.
Information released by Contra Costa Mosquito & Vector Control District
