Get Ready For The Invasion Of The Ankle Biters
CALIFORNIA — If you haven’t noticed them yet, you will soon. They’re the Aedes aegypti, better known as ankle-biter mosquitoes, and over the next week it will become apparent whether the record rainfall from Tropical Storm Hillary helped launched an equally historic mosquito season across the Golden State.
Until Hilary, California was having a relatively light mosquito and West Nile Virus season thanks to the unusually cool spring and early summer. However, last week’s storms combined with humid heat up and down the state to swing conditions in favor of the little bloodsuckers.
Normally at this time of the year, county vector control agencies would have gotten most abandoned swimming pools treated to control the common house mosquito that spreads the West Nile Virus, and they’d be shifting their attention to the ankle biters that thrive later in the summer and fall, said Susanne Kluh, General Manager of Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District. But with the August rain, the pools filled up again, creating conditions ripe for the common house mosquito that spread the West Nile Virus.
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“It took a long time for West Nile Virus to show up this year. We had kind of a late start to the season,” explained Kluh. “Usually at this time of the season we have all the backyard sources usually dried up.
“This kind of throws us back,” she said. “Now we have to go back and address the house mosquito, the main vector of West Nile Virus.”
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So far, this year, there have been 55 human West Nile Virus cases confirmed in 18 California counties. Statewide there have also been 2,797 mosquito samples testing positive for the disease, which is spread from birds and horses to humans via mosquito bites.
As of Friday, there were two human cases confirmed in Los Angeles and Merced counties, 8 in the Inland Empire, and one in Santa Clara County. Orange, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda, Napa and Sonoma counties all have confirmed the presence of West Nile Virus though no human cases have been recorded this year, according to state health officials.
As Vector control officials refocus on the threat of the house mosquito and West Nile Virus, they are urging residents to do their part to stop the ankle biter population from exploding in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Hilary.
In addition to the renewed threat of West Nile Virus outbreaks triggered by the heavy August rain, it’s peak season for the ankle biter. This invasive species can transmit encephalitis, Dengue Fever and Zika. These day hunters prefer biting humans to animals.
“They are pretty sneaky, these ankle biters Aedes. They lay the eggs just above the water line where they can sit for two years until the water comes up and will hatch,” said Brian Brannon, public information officer for the Orange County Mosquito And Vector Control District. “The ankle biters are the ones really bugging people the most – because they’ll bite you five or six times. They are not a native species. They were transported in cargo on a ship and decided to stay here. They are day biters whereas house mosquitoes will bite at dawn or dusk.”
One week after Tropical Storm Hilary dumped rain from San Diego to San Francisco, ankle biters are getting ready to develop into adult mosquitos.
“It only takes a bottle cap full of water for mosquitoes to be able to breed in, so you have to be creative and look for anything that can hold standing water – tires, kids toys, a plastic tarp that has dimples in it – plant saucers. Drains are often a hidden source,” Brannon said.
There is still time for residents to take measures to protect their homes, families and pets from the bloodsuckers.
Tips for protecting your home from mosquitos:
Relatively new to California, the Aedes’ ability to spread diseases such as Dengue Fever and Zika locally remains unknown. So far, cases found in California have been linked to travelers abroad, said Los Angeles County’s Kluh.
“We’ve mostly had imported Dengue cases reported by the health department. We have not observed any local transmission of any of theses diseases, and we are not sure why not,” she said.
Kluh said vector control and health officials take these diseases very seriously with the invasive new mosquitoes.
“We are afraid of it,” she said. “We definitely think it may be in our future because there is s0 much travel to outbreak areas.”
Last year Arizona’s Maricopa County experienced local transmission of Dengue Fever when the disease spread from an infected traveler to the other members of the family, said Kluh. The outbreak somewhat dispelled the theory that the Southwest is too hot and dry for mosquitoes to spread tropical diseases.
When an imported case is detected, vector control agencies around the state take aggressive measures to make sure mosquitoes don’t bite the infected person and spread the disease to others. Travelers are urged to monitor themselves for signs of illness, wear mosquito-repellant and stay indoors while symptomatic.
Residents in most California counties can call their local vector control agency to come to their yard if they suspect a mosquito infestation. The agencies can help identify the source, treat the problem or educate the homeowner about prevention methods.
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