Mosquito Counts - Our volunteers continue to trap, sort, and count mosquitoes to help us monitor the needs of the district and the effects of our efforts.  Sudden spikes in trap numbers indicate a recent "hatch" at a nearby breeding site.  Our crew can usually identify the site, treat it, and add it to our list for future prevention resulting in reduced numbers at that trap the following week.  Most mosquitoes only live about 3 weeks, so if we close down their breeding sites, the numbers of adult mosquitoes will dwindle fairly quickly.  Trap numbers vary widely from site to site.  Under 25 in one night is considered low, and most people find those conditions tolerable.  25 - 50 starts to get noticeable in that you may find yourself swatting when you go outside.  100 - 300 mosquitoes is too many, and we target those areas to find the missed breeding site.  You can help by letting the crew know where the water tends to collect or where the mosquitoes seem to be concentrated as those are the most likely places for breeding.  One neighborhood routinely had 60 or so mosquitoes in their trap until we found the nearby marsh where they had been breeding.  Trapping in the marsh itself caught over 2000 mosquitoes!  The neighborhood numbers should come down now that the marsh is being treated with larvicide. Go to the Trap Sites page for the list of all traps and their numbers to date.

West Nile Virus - As of July 21, 2009, there have been 2 cases of WNV in Colorado, both on the Front Range.  Go to CPHE's site for the latest updates.  Ken Nordstrom reports no WNV-infected mosquitoes have yet been found in Delta County as of this week.

Fogging-  After careful consideration, the Board has decided to fog the Fairgrounds area Friday night, weather permitting, as there are nuisance mosquitoes encroaching on the arena area.  We have conducted extensive trapping around the Fairgrounds this week and determined there are low-moderate numbers in the arena, almost none in the park area, but substantial numbers (60-100 per trap night) in the wooded area nearer the river.  The lights, animals, and people gathered in that area at night may attract those mosquitoes, so we will try to eliminate as many of them as we can before the fair starts.  We are using Aqualeur, a synthetic pyrethrin similar to the BioMist that we used last year.  As always when going out at dawn, dusk, or night, wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing and use a good repellent.  DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus work well, though individual results do vary.  Other preparations, including herbal ones, might work for some but for shorter periods of time.  Bite Blocker seems to work the best of the herbals and is safe for young children.