Mosquito infestation found at Clovis school

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- An infestation of mosquitoes at a Clovis Unified school has one parent keeping her kids home on the first day of school.

Bitten raw by mosquitoes, a little girl has close to 20 bites, one mother says, from just five minutes of playing at Dry Creek Elementary School Sunday night. The grade school mom -- who didn't want to go on camera -- is one of a handful of people that has the school taking action.

"We got reports of this mosquito from the school district. They contacted us. We're taking measures to determine where the mosquitoes are coming from. There's no reason for people to keep their kids away from school," said Steve Mulligan.

Mulligan works for the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District and confirms they found a huge infestation of mosquitoes at the elementary school Monday morning, but this specific breed doesn't carry the deadly West Nile virus.

"It does not transmit diseases; however it's a very aggressive biter and a very big nuisance," said Mulligan.

The abatement district is investigating the source of the mosquitoes and says they're spraying the grounds with insecticides Monday night. Mulligan says the chemicals and mosquitoes aren't harmful to the students. But naturally some parents are still worried.

"It's a little disheartening. I mean you want to make sure that it's a safe place for your kids to go," said Aimee Hoover.

A spokesperson for Clovis Unified School District says they regularly check their play fields to identify any water or irrigation issues. They say within hours of learning of the mosquito problem on the play fields they had scheduled a treatment for Monday evening.