The results of the trapping indicate that some spraying was effective, but there are some backyard sources of mosquito breeding in certain parts of the spray zones causing major concerns. The mosquito abatement district will continue collecting data from the major spray zones of the week of August 15 and will give an update on their findings on Friday afternoon, August 19.

Day one results from the August 15 spraying. There were zero mosquitoes that tested positive for the presence of West Nile virus in all of the day one traps. This is a very positive sign. As was released yesterday, there were two traps that caused concern from this area because of the number of mosquitoes trapped. Mosquito abatement staff will continue to pursue the reduction of mosquitoes in these areas. These areas are:

• Scott Avenue and Carver Road (had 10 mosquitoes before the spraying and 10 mosquitoes after).
• Montclair Drive and Carver Road (had 25 mosquitoes before the spraying and 26 mosquitoes after the spraying).

Today, mosquito abatement staff went door-to-door through these neighborhoods and were shocked at what they found. While they suspected maybe a “single source” cause of the elevated mosquito numbers, they found nearly every home they visited with either a small or large breeding source. Staff visited close to 30 homes. They discovered issues with birdbaths, buckets, bathtubs, a concrete mixing tub. To quote a veteran mosquito abatement worker, it ‘actually scared him’ to see the number of breeding sources. District staff will place West Nile virus information fliers on the doors tomorrow and continue investing

Lloyd Douglass stated, “If what we saw was representative of most houses, this is a could be a significant problem for not just Modesto, but the entire Central Valley.”

Day two results from the August 16 spraying. Of the five mosquito traps that were set in zone of the August 16 spraying, there were two traps that are of concern.

• Barringham Lane and Dragoo Park Drive area (had 13 mosquitoes before and 25 after the spraying
• Celeste Drive and Presidio Avenue area (had zero mosquitoes before and 8 mosquitoes after the spraying.

Mosquito abatement staff will visit these areas in an attempt to identify breeding sources.

The East Side Mosquito Abatement District is asking for the public’s cooperation in providing access to their backyards. The impacted areas will be resprayed by the mosquito district.

The East Side and Turlock Mosquito Abatement Districts continue to ask Stanislaus County residents to check their homes for backyard breeding sources to help protect the public.