It was expected, but the explosion of mosquitoes this spring and continuing this summer have kept officials at the San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District busy with detection and control efforts.

In response to increased adult mosquito populations, or the detection of West Nile Virus, or the detection of invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the District is conducting ongoing adult mosquito control operations.

Both ground and air spraying has been done, and several locations in and around the Escalon-Farmington area have had ground spraying treatments over the past few weeks.

The latest spraying was done early Monday morning, July 10. It covered a portion of the Farmington area, north to Highway 4; south to one mile south of Highway 4; east to a half-mile east of Escalon-Bellota Road; and west to a half-mile west of Escalon-Bellota Road.

Also seeing the ground spraying on Monday was a portion of rural South Farmington: North to Little John Creek; south to a half-mile south of Skiff Road; east to Biederman Way; and west to Van Allen Road.

“We’re swamped.” admitted Mosquito and Vector Control District spokesman Aaron Devencenzi. “It’s just one of those years … we were kind of expecting this.”

Also conducted recently, the District hosted its annual giveaway of mosquitofish. They were provided free to county residents for use in areas where mosquitoes are prevalent, including ornamental ponds, water troughs and neglected swimming pools.

“We had 112 people total,” Devencenzi said of county residents taking advantage of the free mosquitofish.

Many were distributed at specific giveaway locations around the county in late June, including one in Escalon.

“Thirteen responded there,” Devencenzi said of the distribution hosted at the Community Center Park pavilion.

Along with the mosquitofish, he said some people visited the giveaway locations to request District service or obtain insect repellant with DEET, recommended for use in protecting against the bite of mosquitoes.

“The District will continue to implement the California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance and Response Plan to protect the public health and welfare,” officials noted. “Spray locations and times will normally be available 24 hours in advance.”

People can also access spray information and scheduled spray locations by calling the District at 209-982-4675 or toll free at 1-800-300-4675 during normal business hours from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday or by visiting the District’s website at http://www.sjmosquito.org/

Spray operations may move to the next day due to adverse weather condition or canceled in the event of an unforeseen circumstance.

Residents of and visitors to San Joaquin County can reduce their risk of WNV infection and other mosquito-transmitted diseases by taking a number of precautions. Those include:

Eliminate all sources of standing water on your property that can support mosquito development.

According to label instructions, when outdoors, apply insect repellent containing EPA-registered active ingredients, including DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535. Repellents prevent mosquitoes from biting.

Avoid spending time outside when mosquitoes are most active, at dawn and dusk, especially for the first two hours after sunset.

Wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and other protective clothing, when outdoors.

Exclude mosquitoes from your home with tight-fitting screens on doors and windows.

Contact your veterinarian for information on vaccinating equine against WNV.