From MyNewsLA.com
April 18, 2019
Winter rains may have made the Coachella Valley extra lush over the past few weeks, but officials warn that those conditions likely will precipitate a flood of mosquitoes and their attendant viruses to the desert.
“A combination of an unusually wet winter and a spike in temperatures could result in increased mosquito-borne virus activity, such as West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis,” officials from the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District said. (We are) “currently trapping twice the mosquitoes than is normal this time of year when compared to the 5-year average.”
The factors indicate both an early and active mosquito season ahead.
Due to the increased risk of mosquito-borne viruses, officials ask Coachella Valley residents to dump or drain any standing water to help eliminate the deadly critter’s breeding and nesting ground.
“If people make mosquito prevention a weekly routine, just like taking out the trash, that’s when we will see real reductions in mosquitoes,” District Public Information Manager Jill Oviatt said.