It is great to have precipitation after 5 years of below average rainfall, unless you reside in one of the communities with flooding. Building up our water table, flushing our streams and storm drains are all positive occurrences, but the residual standing water is of concern because the risk of establishing reproduction sites for mosquitoes.
Since October 1, 2016, Albany received 29 inches of rainfall! Quite a large amount since the annual average rainfall for Albany is 23.96 inches, and this in only a five-month timeframe. Combine this bounty of rainwater with the previous years of drought where residents have attempted to save any available water to allow their gardens and landscaping to survive. All these various water-holding containers provide ample sites for female mosquitoes to lay their eggs, which will pass through complete metamorphosis and produce hordes of blood hungry mosquitoes that have the potential to transmit deadly diseases, such as West Nile Virus (WNV).
The practice of “dumping and draining” of any container holding water on a weekly basis will greatly reduce mosquitoes around your home and neighborhood. In addition, reporting to Alameda County Vector Control (510-567-6700) any standing water sites that persist for more than a week, or the presence of mosquitoes, can help our staff stay on top of mosquito breeding before it can get out of control.
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We have a comprehensive mosquito surveillance and control program that with the help of the community will be able to keep Albany safe from disease-vectoring mosquitoes. During 2016, there were 442 cases of WNV statewide, with 19 fatalities. There were no human cases in Alameda County, though 11 dead birds tested positive for WNV, and two mosquito samples were positive for the virus, though none of the activity was in Albany.