Airborne Mosquito Treatment Planned Over Palo Alto Flood Basin

PALO ALTO, CA — An airborne mosquito control operation is planned Wednesday over the Palo Alto flood basin as the Vector Control District works to tamp down on mosquito populations and prevent larvae from growing.

Weather permitting, a helicopter will apply treatments along the nonresidential area designed to target the winter salt marsh mosquito. Vector control officials said the district has been monitoring the development of larvae in the flood basin, noting they can travel up to 20 miles in search of a "blood meal" and are known to be aggressive biters.

According to the county, the helicopter will help treat more difficult-to-reach areas with a treatment that uses naturally occurring microbes and mosquito-hormone regulators designed to have minimal impacts on marsh habitats.

"Our team members check these marshes on a regular basis and have done treatments by hand," said Dr. Nayer Zahiri, the Vector Control District Manager. "However, all the recent rain has created pockets of water that we can't reach by for. If we don't conduct the treatment soon, larvae in the area will soon become biting adults."

The airborne treatments are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and will last for a few hours. If weather interferes with the plan, the district will reschedule to the earliest available date.

Officials said the helicopter may need to make low-altitude passes over trails surrounding the area and asked members of the public to avoid areas near the treatment area. Marsh trails will remain closed until the treatment is complete.