Fight the Bite!
Eliminate mosquito-breeding sources around your house now.  

Turn over any containers that have collected rainwater. Chlorinate and run the filter on spas and swimming pools. If your pool is not being used, stock it with mosquito-eating fish.

Female mosquitoes out of hibernation will be on the lookout for a blood meal, which they need for egg production. Soon after egg development, they will be in search of water on which to lay their eggs, and for their young wiggling larvae to grow. Standing water left by recent rains will provide development sites for them. Buckets, barrels, cans, old tires… literally anything in the yard that will hold water is a potential mosquito-breeding source … plastic tarps, boats, wading pools, all contribute to the hum of spring.

Mosquitofish, which feed on mosquito larvae, can be put in ornamental ponds or containers too large to empty, such as horse troughs. The Santa Cruz County Mosquito & Vector Control District provides mosquitofish at no charge and can be delivered to District residents. For more information on mosquitofish, mosquitoes or other biting and stinging pests, call 454-2590.

Here are some ways to reduce the number of mosquitoes hatching near your home in the coming months.

• Empty rainwater from garbage cans, pails, tubs and barrels and cover them or keep them upside down.

• Keep filter skimmer working in pools and hot tubs and keep clean, drain disused pools or stock with mosquito-eating fish.

• Empty or cover boats and wading pools, pump standing water if it collects under the house.

• Stock mosquito-eating fish in ornamental ponds.

• Store old tires where water can’t get in them.

• Patch holes in door or window screens.

• Share this information with a neighbor.

The following precautions would help protect against mosquito bites:

• Mosquitoes are most active at dusk, so when engaging in outdoor activities, wear long pants, long sleeve shirts and other protective clothing and apply insect repellant according to label instructions.

• Keep infants indoors during peak mosquito hours. If outside, cover cribs, bassinets or playpens with suspended mosquito netting.

• Find and eliminate all sources of standing water around property that can support mosquito breeding.

• Fix those screens, install screen doors and replace the porch light with a yellow bug light that won’t attract mosquitoes.

Bti - MOSQUITO DUNKS
Call the District if you have a mosquito problem ((831)454-2590). If you are outside our service area, we may inform you of other methods to control mosquitoes. One over-the-counter product is Bti. Bti is bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) that kills mosquito larvae (the aquatic stage of the mosquito). It is a natural pathogen of mosquitoes, first isolated in Israel in 1976. The mosquito larvae ingest the bacteria, and it causes their gut wall to disintegrate. It is essentially non-toxic to all other organisms (including people) except for a few closely related types of flies. Bti is most effective in shallow water. Read the label carefully. Mosquito Dunks are donut-shaped briquets which contain Bti, and can be purchased at (call for availability):

• San Lorenzo Lumber Garden Center 426-1020 235 River Street, Santa Cruz

• General Feed and Seed Company 476-5344 1900 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz

• Orchard Supply Hardware 475-7701 1601 41st Ave., Capitola

• Scarborough Garden Center, 438-4106 33 El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley

• Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery, 9am - 5pm PST (707) 823-9125

• Gemplers: www.gemplers.com or (800)382-8473, Item #RSC6 Dunks 6-pack $12 or Item #77201 Bits 2 1/4 lbs $15

MOSQUITOFISH
Mosquitofish are small minnows that eat mosquito larvae and other aquatic organisms. They are most effective in small, contained ponds and water troughs and shouldn’t be released into large natural habitats. Call the District for availability from our Capitola Road office. We may refer you to the following businesses who have also kindly offered to provide them to the public (call for availability, fish are free – six per person, bring your own clean, lidded container), please patronize them by shopping while you are there for fish!

• River Nursery and Pet Supply 722-0127

• 1482 Freedom Blvd. in Watsonville

• Nursery is closed Tuesdays.

• Cabrillo Sand & Gravel / Aptos Landscape Supply 688-6211
  5025 Freedom Boulevard (near Day Valley Rd.)
  7:30 - 5:00 Mon - Sat, Closed Sunday

• Aptos Nursery Plus / Hidden Gardens Nursery 688-7011
  7765 Soquel Drive, Aptos (Seacliff exit, across from Safeway, behind Hansen’s Feed)
  10:00 - 5:00 Mon - Sat, 10 - 4 Sunday

• Central Coast Livestock & Trailer Supply 761-2868
  225 Salinas Rd, Watsonville, 9:00 – 6:30 Mon – Fri, 9 – 5 Sat, Closed Sunday.