Marissa Rodriguez took her dog, Jack, for a walk in her east Simi Valley neighborhood. It’s a nice area, with a mix of single-family homes and townhouses.
She said there’s been a surge in recent years of some tiny predators. There’s been an onslaught of mosquitoes.
"There is a good amount of them in the summer, in the park areas. I see them a lot when I'm walking him (the dog) in the afternoon. I try to protect myself because we do have them," Rodriguez explained. "I guess it's something we have to live with every summer."
But experts who are using technology are fighting back.
"The invasive mosquitoes we detected here (in this neighborhood) back in 2020 have unleashed a lot of new places for mosquito breeding that we didn't look at before," said Steve Solomon, Program Lead with Ventura County’s Environmental Health Division. He specializes in Vector Control, which means he focuses on finding and eradicating mosquito breeding hotspots.
"Examples are these yard drains, and gutter drains out on the streets, utility vaults, containers on people's properties, potted plants, things like that we would occasionally inspect in the past, but now they've become a regular part of our inspections. Only a teaspoon of water is enough for them to survive, lay their eggs, and breed."
He showed us an iPad with a history of breeding spots in this neighborhood.
"Here's where we're located," he said as he pointed at a dot on the iPad. "Right next to that dot, as you zoom out, you can see all these other dots that are places where we have either found mosquito breeding, or believe we could find mosquito breeding. Each of these dots represents a spot to be checked."
There are two dozen spots in the neighborhood.
Solomon showed us a tiny landscaping water drain coming out of a curb near some townhouses. There’s maybe a half glass of water in it, with about a quarter of an inch of muddy water at its entrance.
"Sometimes we call these gutter drains, or curb drains, or street drains. They're connected to the yard drains in the property," said Solomon.
He put a small spoon-like stick in the drain and pulled out a mix of dirty water and mud. "You can see there's more than a teaspoon of water here. There we go, I got one. Look at that. I did not expect it. There's a larva there...mosquito larvae."
He quickly found three more.
Solomon walked over to the back of his truck, donned gloves, pulled out some tiny pellets, and put them in the water. They'll kill the larvae for about a month.
We drove about two blocks to an underground utility vault. There’s a metal grate over it that’s about the size of a manhole cover. Solomon dropped a tiny rock inside, and we heard a splash. He said it's a prime breeding area for mosquitoes. The vector control specialist pushed a tiny block into the vault. It splashed into the water and will kill any larvae in the stagnant water.
With increased winter rainfall and a warmer-than-normal March, mosquito activity started earlier this year. Depending on the weather, it can almost be a year-round issue.
Besides hitting mosquito breeding hotspots, a good part of what Solomon does is education. He talks to people about what they can do to reduce the problem.
It means eliminating standing water in your yard, like in a plant saucer or a bucket. And, it means protecting yourself. That includes having good door and window screens, wearing long sleeves and pants while walking, and using APA-approved mosquito repellents.
