Concerns rise over growing number of mosquitoes in Kings County

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- There is a growing concern in Kings County as the number of mosquitoes in Kings County has skyrocketed due to the amount of water that made its way to Tulare Lake.

The Kings Mosquito Abatement District is about 200% percent over budget this year, trying to get a hand on the number of mosquitoes swirling in the community.

More standing water means more mosquitos, and with Tulare Lake sticking around, officials in Kings County say this is the perfect breeding habitat for mosquitoes.

Those who live and work in Corcoran say mosquitos are common, but since Tulare Lake re-emerged, the amount of pests buzzing around town has increased.

"On my patio where I have lots of plants, and they're wet, they were really bad and come in the house the minute you open the door," said a Corcoran resident.

On Sunday, the Kings Mosquito Abatement District took action to spray around Corcoran up until the edge of the Lake off Sixth Street.

Michael Cavanagh with Kings Mosquito Abatement says residents should not be alarmed about the pesticide used.

"It's not that there is no risk, it is a pesticide, and we need to use caution, but the amount of material that's actually used was only around .66 ounces an acre, so it's a tiny amount," explained Cavanagh.

Cavanagh has worked with the abatement district for two decades and says the high number of mosquitos they've seen since April is a first.

"It's never been anywhere near this. In the past, we have momentary burst in the population where it spiked and went away, but this has been consistent since the beginning of the season, and it's because we have so much water from the mountains," said Cavanagh.

He says the struggle to attack the problem has put them more than 200% over budget.

"Normally, we are around $400,000, but we're approaching a million," Cavanagh said.

He's asking the community to be patient and says, thankfully, the state is assisting financially with pesticide applications.

"We're doing as much as we can, but we can't kill all of the mosquitos...hopefully October will come around, and mosquitos will go away!"

There may be a second round of aerial spraying in Corcoran, especially since the West Nile virus has been detected, but it all depends on the findings in the next few weeks.

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