Sprayings Target Mosquitoes

County Environmental Health Services workers are spraying a neighborhood near the Tijuana River this week in an effort to reduce the mosquito population and prevent an outbreak of diseases the pests carry.

The sprayings, which began Tuesday night and will continue through Thursday, will take place along the riverbed east of 19th Street in Imperial Beach to the international border and also in the Robinhood Homes subdivision, said Gary Stephany, the health department’s deputy director.

Health officials decided to conduct the sprayings after catching a large number of mosquitoes in traps, including the species that sometimes carries malaria and encephalitis, said Moise Mizrahi, a department spokesman.

“One small trap produced upwards of 1,000 mosquitoes,” Mizrahi said.

No cases of disease have been reported in the area, Stephany said.

The neighborhood has been sprayed during each of the past four summers, partly because mosquitoes breed particularly well in the river valley, Mizrahi said.

Stephany described pyrethrins, the insecticide that will be used in the sprayings, as “relatively harmless” to humans and warm-blooded animals.

“Because a few people may have an allergic reaction to it, persons in the areas being fogged should stay indoors during the process,” Stephany said. “It is recommended that pets, including birds and fish, be kept inside or covered.”

The sprayings will occur between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. each of the three days, if weather permits, Stephany said.