LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Vector Control District reported that, due to weather, it has rescheduled an aerial mosquito larvicide treatment that had been set to begin last week.
District Manager Dr. Jamie Scott said the date for aerial application of VectoBac G larvicide for larval control of Aedes increpitus – or snowmelt mosquito – has been postponed due to the weather and rise in lake level.
Scott said the application is now scheduled on Monday, March 11, or Tuesday, March 12, but the application date may be adjusted based on mosquito surveillance data, lake level and the weather.
The treatment will take place at the marshlands adjacent to the lake between Clear Lake State Park and Lakeport, parts of Anderson Marsh State Park, a small section east of the Clearlake Keys, and a small area near Bridge Arbor South in North Lakeport.
The application is being made because the district’s winter mosquito surveillance program has detected large numbers of mosquito larvae in the marshlands along the perimeter of the lake that flooded as the lake rose due to the abundant rains.
These mosquito larvae are an early-season floodwater species (Aedes increpitus) that hatch from eggs laid in the mud in previous years as the lake receded.
When winter rains flooded the eggs, the larvae hatched and began developing in the still, shallow water. As temperatures and day length increase in early spring, the Ae. increpitus mosquito larvae will pupate and then emerge as biting adults.
These mosquitoes are the aggressive biters experienced every spring by people living and recreating near this area.
The application will be made by a yellow, bi-winged crop duster flying at a low altitude over these marshy areas.
Some of the marshy areas are near homes, and people may experience a brief noise nuisance from the plane.
The product applied will be VectoBac G, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats. VectoBac is manufactured by Valent BioSciences, and is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).
The district said it’s a highly effective and economical microbial insecticide is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.
Bti is highly selective for the control of mosquito larvae in water and does not affect plants, animals, or beneficial insects that live in or drink the water. The formulation is a biodegradable solid corncob granule coated with Bti.
The Bti breaks down rapidly in nature so there is no persistence of the active ingredient. The use of a solid formulation reduces the possibility of drift onto adjacent property.
The VectoBac G label and the Safety Data Sheet are available from the Lake County Vector Control District’s Web site at http://www.lcvcd.org/, where the new application date and any subsequent changes also will be posted.
For more information, call the district at 707-263-4770.
Officials reschedule aerial mosquito larvicide treatment
- Lake County News reports
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