Health District, partners respond to mosquito issue in East Lake, Washoe Valley area

Jul 26, 2021

Reno/Sparks, Nev. July 26, 2021 – The Washoe County Health District (WCHD) – Vector Borne Disease Prevention Program and several local agencies recently responded to and addressed mosquitos impacting residents in the East Lake area of Washoe Valley.

The Health District, Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) and the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDOA) received complaints of increased mosquito activity in the East Lake area, which upon inspection was validated.

The Health District responded by successfully treating approximately 55 acres of irrigated pasture with larvicide pellets, to address mosquito breeding in the area. The Health District, NDOW and NDOA have discussed the long-term treatment and management of the pasture and wetland area to address mosquito borne disease. Larvicide is utilized in sensitive areas to ensure minimal impact to other species. The product utilized is specifically formulated to target mosquito species.

WCHD will continue to complete surveillance in the area to ensure the adult mosquito population is managed, and will work with the other agencies going forward to create a partnership and ensure the public health and safety of the environment and residents in the area.

The agencies would like to thank residents for notification of the mosquito issue.

The Washoe County Health District is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making Washoe County District Board of Health. The District consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology & Public Health Preparedness. More info can be found here.