‘Ankle-biter’ mosquito now a permanent resident of Kern

From Bakersfield.com
August 28, 2020

One benefit Bakersfield has long enjoyed — a benefit millions of Americans do not have — has been the ability to take a walk on a spring or summer evening, or sip a drink on an unprotected porch, without being “eaten up” by swarms of mosquitoes.

Residents who have moved here from places like New Hampshire or Florida, Louisiana or Georgia, are thrilled to learn they have more freedom to be outdoors in arid Kern County.

But recent changes to the mosquito population in the southern San Joaquin Valley could force residents to get serious about spraying on mosquito repellant along with their perfume or aftershave.

“The Aedes aegypti mosquito is also known as the yellow fever mosquito,” Kern Mosquito and Vector Control District spokesman Terry Knight said at a news conference held Thursday at the district headquarters.

“It’s nickname is the ankle-biter.”

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