The wettest winter in a decade means one thing— bugs and rodents. Mosquitoes, rodents and other disease-spreading insects have bred in record numbers over the summer. San Diego Vector Control experts say these are some of the creatures to watch out for.
Zika in Carlsbad-The San Diego Department of Public Health has released emergency warnings that the aedes aegypti mosquito has become active in the Carlsbad area. Some experts are concerned that the area may have a potential epidemic of the Zika virus and West Nile virus that are carried by mosquitoes.
Problem areas
There are no hardest hit areas for Zika carrying mosquito, those mosquitos area mainly being found around areas with standing or slow moving water. Those mosquitos are heaviest in urban, coastal areas of San Diego. One reason for this is an abundance of drained pools that have storm water in the bottom, seasonal steams or lagoons. Mosquitoes only need a thimble size amount of water to breed, and these pools are the perfect setting. Vector control crews are working to locate these situations and stock mosquito-eating fish in them. Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) are only used in water sources that do not connect to natural water bodies because they are not native fish.
Ticks
Lyme disease: The tick that carries this disease is a black-legged tick. Black-legged ticks are the primary spreaders of Lyme disease. San Diego County Vector Control District has tested over thousands of black-legged ticks since 1988, and only one was positive for Lyme disease.
Spotted fever: Other ticks, such as the Pacific Coast tick and the American dog tick, are common in San Diego county, and both species are active all year. Both species are very competent vectors of spotted fever. Spotted fever can be fatal, but is often cured with antibiotics.
Fleas
Murine Typhus: One of the drawbacks of pet ownership is the little bites you receive from fleas. The bites can be annoying, but fleas are also directly responsible for the spread of the Murine typhus to humans. The two main carriers of the type of flea that carries typhus are feral cats and possums. It’s been documented that the increase in feral cats in an areas correlates to the increase in reported typhus cases with that area. Carlsbad’s peak flea season is in July and August but may come earlier with temperatures on the rise.
Imported red fire ants
San Diego Vector control crews are concerned about these ants in public areas such as parks and schools. The ants have jaws than can bite, and females have a stinger that delivers venom.
If you detect these insects, do not try to treat them on your own.
Deer Mice and voles
Mice and voles trapped during routine monitoring in Carlsbad have test positive for potentially deadly Hantavirus since 2012. This year a record number have been caught in the Carlsbad area. Vector control says that all the rain we had last winter drastically increased the weeds and plants those rodents feed on which in turn helped increased these rodents population. Voles, Deer Mice and the Wild Harvest Mouse were all caught near the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
Call Wheeler’s Pest Control at 760-504-5340 if you need help with any of these pest control problems
Tags, Carlsbad, Carlsbad Ca, pest control services, rodent control
