Battle to beat the bugs resumes

The Colusa Mosquito Abatement District is back in business.

District officials leaned Friday that the cease-and-desist order effective June 6 has been lifted.

“We’ve been given a two-year stay,” said David Whitesell, district manager.

Colusa and about 40 other mosquito abatement districts in the state were ordered not to spray for adult mosquitoes in May, following a decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio earlier this year that overturned the rule that some pesticides were excluded from permit requirements.

Without the stay, the district would have been prohibited from spraying mosquitoes during the summer when the risk of West Nile virus is at its highest.

 The virus – a potential killer of both people and horses ­– has been found in Colusa County every year since 2003, when the virus was first detected in California. A Colusa woman died from the disease and others have been sickened, Whitesell said. At least 15 Californians died from West Nile virus in 2008, while the disease sickened 428 more, according to state health officials.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeal in Ohio – which granted the stay – has given the Environmental Protection Agency two years to develop a permit for the spraying of adult mosquitoes.

“We don’t think we need a permit, but at least we’re good to go for now,” Whitesell said.

Whitesell said without the use of the adulticides, the district would not be able to control mosquitoes once they hatch. He said he will begin spraying for mosquitoes in the 160 square-mile district that includes Colusa and the Meridian area and about 300,000 acres of wetlands by the beginning of next week.

“We’re getting a late start anyway because of budget cuts,” Whitesell said. “We’re cutting back just in case the governor takes our money.”

Whitesell said the district expects to be hit by the 8 percent state “borrowing” of Prop 1A funds as well as a decline in property tax revenue as a result of the down economy.

While the Colusa Abatement District is the first line of defense against adult mosquitoes, residents can help prevent the breeding of the pests.

Whitesell said residents should inspect their homes and yards thoroughly and remove any standing water that may cause mosquito production. Mosquitoes breed in fish ponds, bird paths, tin cans, water cans, saucers under potted plants, old tires, clogged roof gutters, wading pools, ornamental ponds, watering troughs, rain barrels, street gutters, house coolers and event tree holes and over-watered lawns.

District ground rigs will spray for adult mosquitoes for Fourth of July activities, Whitesell said. The Colusa County Chamber of Commerce has planned a big Independence Day celebration that includes fireworks at the Sacramento River Recreation Area in Colusa.

Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.