Warm Weather Means Early Mosquito Spraying In San Jose
SAN JOSE (KCBS)- Mosquitoes could be out for blood earlier than usual this year because of the recent warm weather, and that has vector control officials in Silicon Valley scheduling a helicopter spraying of a prime breeding ground for Friday morning.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
The spraying is normally done by ground, but the terrain around the Alviso Marsh doesn't allow for that.
"It's very difficult because there are a lot of ditches and potholes underneath the surface of the water in that particular habitat," said Russ Parman with Santa Clara County Vector Control. "By air we can cover a large amount of acreage without getting our technicians hurt."
Parman said that winter salt marsh mosquitoes can be vicious.
"They bite during the day time, unlike some other mosquitoes which only bite at dawn or dusk or into the night," said Parman. "That means they have an effect on people who are out and about on their daily business. They can chew on school children and the teachers along with them. We tend to get a lot of calls out of Milpitas and north San Jose if these guys aren't effectively controlled."
It's important to kill the mosquitoes in the larval stage because adult mosquitoes can fly more than 20 miles.
(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
