Happy Holidays from the ACMAD Staff! 

Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association Research Article

This past September, the District had a research article published in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association titled “Assessing Mosquito Breeding Sites and Abundance Using An Unmanned Aircraft.” Our Laboratory Director Eric Haas-Stapleton, Ph.D., led the study with the help of other District staff. The article describes our use of the District's drone to locate and quantify accumulated surface water in a marsh, demonstrated that the drone could see immature mosquitoes in water from a height of 45 feet, and that artificial intelligence could be used to automatically count those mosquitoes. Click here to see the article.

The Rainy Season Has Started

Now that the rain has returned, it's important to make sure that your yard doesn't have items that can hold water and potentially breed mosquitoes. Make it a habit to routinely check your yard after it rains and dump any standing water that has accumulated.

Special District Leadership

Our General Manager, Ryan Clausnitzer, was elected Vice President of the 2020 California Special District Association (CSDA) Executive Committee. Ryan is continuing his leadership role as he was also the Treasurer of the 2019 CSDA Executive Committee. On the local level, the District will be hosting the Alameda County Chapter CSDA meeting at our office on January 8th, 2020.

West Nile Virus

In 2019, a total of 211 dead birds were reported for West Nile virus (WNV) testing in Alameda County. Out of the 211 birds reported, 82 were suitable for testing and all birds tested negative for WNV. It is currently the low season for WNV, but our laboratory will still test suitable dead birds. If you come across a dead bird please report it online at www.westnile.ca.gov. The mosquitoes most effective at spreading WNV are more common in the summer months and reduced their activity once the rainy season set in. However, mosquitoes can breed all year long in the Bay Area so proper precautions to avoid mosquito breeding should be taken. Routinely check for standing water in your yard and drain or cover anything that will last longer than 4 days.

Welcome Our New Staff Member

Our newest full-time staff member, Erick Gaona, started at the District this year as a seasonal staff member in our laboratory. He is now a part of our field staff, servicing parts of Hayward, Fremont, Newark and Union City. Erick graduated from San Francisco State University and was an employee for the City of Sunnyvale before coming to the District.

Upcoming Staff Presentations

Our staff has been busy preparing for the annual conferences of Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC) and the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA). We have three staff members giving presentations and two staff members presenting posters at the MVCAC conference. We also have two staff members giving presentations and one staff member presenting a poster at the AMCA conference. These presentations represent various projects and studies done by staff throughout the year.