Hollister
– As San Benito County renews its annual campaign against
mosquitos, which can transmit West Nile virus and other diseases to
humans and animals, a local 4-H club is making it easier for county
residents to get their hands on a particular fish that is helpful
in the fight against the blood-sucking
insects.
Hollister – As San Benito County renews its annual campaign against mosquitos, which can transmit West Nile virus and other diseases to humans and animals, a local 4-H club is making it easier for county residents to get their hands on a particular fish that is helpful in the fight against the blood-sucking insects.
Mosquitos often lay their eggs in standing water. An egg develops into larvae, which becomes an adult mosquito. In an effort to ground the pests before they get their wings, members of the Union 4-H club are helping residents keep their ponds, fountains and troughs larvae-free by collecting and distributing mosquitofish – a one to two-inch fish with a voracious appetite for mosquito larvae.
“I think it’s really good,” Union 4-H member Dominique Flores said. “We’re trying to prevent mosquitos and West Nile (virus) from coming to Hollister.”
Club members collect the fish – which reproduce several times a year – from ponds in the county and distribute them to landowners who have some kind of standing water on their property. Club members will be at the farmers market in downtown Hollister each Wednesday afternoon handing the fish out.
Danielle Escover, also a Union 4-H member, said she wanted to join the mosquito abatement efforts to reduce the chance that horses will be infected with West Nile virus. In 2005, two horses in San Benito County were infected.
“I wanted to combine my passion for 4-H and horses,” she said. “I want to protect horses.”
While Union 4-H is helping curb mosquito breeding on private property, San Benito County is taking steps to see that public facilities don’t contribute to the problem. Employees of the county’s Agricultural Commission and Environmental Health Department began putting larvicide – which kills the larvae – in storm drains throughout Hollister last week, according to county staff. Storm drains in San Juan Bautista and county areas will receive the same treatment in coming weeks. Mosquito season generally begins in May and could stretch through to November.
“With the end of the wet weather season, conditions are prime for mosquito breeding,” said Matt Fore with Environmental Health.
First discovered in New York in 1999, West Nile virus quickly spread west. It was detected in California in 2002. The mosquito-borne disease can infect both humans and animals, such as birds and horses. The vast majority of people who are infected with West Nile don’t have any symptoms. Severe symptoms occur in about one in 150 people and can include convulsions, coma, paralysis and death. Milder symptoms include fever, headache and nausea.
In addition to placing larvicide in city and county storm drains, the county is collecting dead birds to be tested for West Nile virus to track the disease in San Benito County. So far this year, no birds collected in the county have tested positive, according to Fore. Statewide, however, 19 birds have tested positive in counties from San Diego to Santa Clara. In 2005, one infected bird was found in San Benito County. The Agricultural Commission has also started a mosquito trapping program this year, through which it hopes to collect data about how many mosquitos, and what variety, the county. The information will be used to gauge the effectiveness of future mosquito abatement efforts, according to Ron Ross with the Ag Commission.
San Benito’s mosquito abatement program started about a year ago after the county received an $185,000 grant from the California Department of Health Services. At the same time, the Board of Supervisors kicked-in an additional $80,000 in county funds to get the program off the ground.
With the state grant funding ending next month and the county’s contribution dwindling, local jurisdictions are scrambling to figure out a way to keep the abatement program running for future years. Agricultural Commission Paul Matulich said that he will use the remainder of the grant by purchasing and stockpiling larvicide for use in the years to come. There will be no funding source, however, for personnel to apply the larvicide and other supplies needed for the program. Matulich estimated that it will cost about $65,000 to keep the abatement program going each year.
One option on the table is to split the cost of the program between the jurisdictions that benefit from it. A breakdown calculated by Matulich has Hollister paying for 76 percent of the program – nearly $50,000. Hollister would pay the bulk because it has the majority of the storm drains that need treatment. Under the scheme county would pay $11,000, about 17 percent. San Juan Bautista would pay 6.5 percent – $1,400.
Hollister City Council members are concerned that the city might bear the brunt of the program costs in the future. Councilman Doug Emerson said that the county has more financial resources that Hollister. His colleagues agreed.
“This is a community – not just in terms of the city – dealing with mosquitos,” Councilwoman Monica Johnson said.
Kathy Flores, director of the county’s Health and Human Services department, said that she is also exploring the possibility of creating a mosquito abatement district in the county, fees from which would cover the program costs. Voter would have to approve the creation of an abatement district.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
