(July 29, 2005) -- LBReport.com has learned that on Saturday July 30, anti-mosquito crews from the Greater L.A. County Vector Control District (GLACVCD) will go door to door in an ELB area roughly between Studebaker Rd. to Palo Verde Ave., and Anaheim/Atherton St. to Willow St., distributing information and seeking permission to enter backyards to see if they can spot mosquito breeding sources -- anything from pools to birdbaths -- that may be contributing to persisting West Nile Virus (WNV) infected mosquitoes in the area.
The crews will NOT be doing spraying on July 30. "Our emphasis in going door-to-door is cooperation and education, working with homeowners to find problems and fix them," said GLACVCD Technical Services Director Minoo Madon.
Mr. Madon says GLACVD crewmembers will distirbute information and may request access to backyards so they can check to see if there are standing water sources the homeowner might have missed. The agency stresses that this will not be a punitive action. "It's meant to be constructive and helpful, to find the homeowner find any problems they may not be aware of and, with luck, remedy them on the spot," Mr. Madon said.
He noted that some property owners may be unaware of backyard sources that may be contributing to the problem. From an unattended pet water dish to a disregarded birdbath, anything with a small amount of standing water can create a mosquito breeding source...and GLACVCD's anti-mosquito staffers have acquired an eye for spotting them.
One senior GLACVCD staffer noted that homes in the area have crawl spaces...and sometimes a broken pipe can create a leak under the house, pooling water and creating a breeding source; the agency's anti-mosquito staffers have seen just about everything.
GLACVCD anti-mosquito crewmembers will begin going door to door starting from the southern end (Atherton/Anaheim), heading northbound, generally along both sides of the Los Cerritos channel and vicinity. Crews may get as far north as Stearns St.., hopefully to Willow St. by the end of a grueling day's work.
In undertaking the door to door contact and backyard survey in the area between Palo Verde and Studebaker, the GLACVCD is narrowing in on part of the larger ELB quadrant south of the 405 freeway in which it previously identified West Nile Virus infected mosquitoes (from Bellflower Blvd. to Studebaker Rd., from the 405 to Atherton)
If homeowners aren't home tomorrow, GLACVCD crews will leave door hangers with information.
Crewmembers will be wearing badges. They'll be wearing distinctive uniforms...and residents may see the GLACVCD vehicles in the area.
As previously reported by LBReport.com, GLACVCD officials met with CDC, CA Dept. of Health Services and UC Davis mosquito experts a week ago under a grant providing intesified mosquito surveillance (trapping and testing) in the area. That surveillance turned up the ELB WNV-infected mosquitoes late last month.
Following last week's meeting, additional trappinig and testing was conducted...and those tests also turned up collections of mosquitoes testing positive for WNV from the area.