Officials target 1,200 pools

Mosquito abatement staff to visit those left untended

BY EMILY HAGEDORN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: ehagedorn@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Sep 6
2007 10:25 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Sep 6 2007 11:03 PM

Twelve hundred swimming pools suspected of being
mosquito breeding grounds were found in a recent
aerial survey of metropolitan Bakersfield.

The Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District got the
final photos this week and has been working to treat
the pools, starting with the greenest and most
unkempt-looking, said Manager Rob Quiring.

The number surprised him.

"I would have thought maybe 500 pools," Quiring said.
"Those won't all be breeding sources, but it's pools
that we would like to look at."

Untended pools left behind in the recent real estate
downturn have been blamed for contributing to Kern's
high number of West Nile virus cases this year.

One hundred Kern County residents have been infected
with the mosquito-borne virus; 185 people have been
infected in the state, according to the state
Department of Public Health.

"Within a few days, these pools turn green and the
mosquitoes get interested in them," said Gene Abbott, superintendent of the Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District, at the town hall meeting on the virus Tuesday night. "These pools can put out thousands of mosquitoes per night."

The vector control district has been treating pools
throughout this season, but now with the last of the
aerial photos completed, staff will be working six
days a week sussing out the threat, Quiring said.

If someone lives on a property with a green pool, the
abatement employees will make contact with the owners
and set up a time to treat the pool, usually with an alcohol-based chemical to suffocate the adult mosquitoes and a bacteria that kills the larvae, Quiring said.

Both break down naturally in the water and won't
damage the pools.

If a home is vacated, employees will enter the
property and along with the two methods, they will
also put guppylike fish in the pool to eat mosquitoes,
he said.

Abandoned pools only became an abatement issue in June
or July -- halfway through the season, Quiring said.

Next year, he plans to have surveys done in April and
in June or July.

"In a normal year, pools wouldn't be that much of a
problem," he said.

"It just kind of snowballed with the downturn in the
real estate market."

Avoiding West Nile virus

To avoid West Nile virus, county and state health
departments recommend that residents:

• Eliminate all sources of stagnant or standing water
where mosquitoes can breed.

• Avoid being outdoors at dawn and dusk, when
mosquitoes are most active.

• Wear long sleeves and long pants while outdoors.

• Use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or
oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label
instructions.

• Make sure the doors and windows have tight-fitting
screens with no holes or tears.

• Contact your mosquito abatement district if there is
a significant mosquito problem where you live or work,
for a supply of mosquito fish to control larvae in
troughs and ponds or to report an abandoned, stagnant
swimming pool. Call the Kern Mosquito and Vector
Control District at 589-2744, Westside Mosquito
Abatement District at 763-3510, Delano Mosquito
Abatement District at 725-3114 or South Fork Mosquito
Abatement District at 760-376-4268.

• Call the state toll-free hot line at 877-WNV-BIRD
(877-968-2473) if you find a dead bird or squirrel.

• Consult veterinarians to properly vaccinate horses.