PHONE
800-231-3236 (toll free)
707-285-2200 (office)
707-285-2210 (fax)
ADDRESS
595 Helman Lane
Cotati, California
94931-9736
HOURS
Monday through Friday
7:00AM to 3:30PM
Advice and Identification
Supervisor: Ron Keith, Vector Ecologist
The Marin / Sonoma Mosquito & Vector Control District provides full entomological laboratory services to the two-county area. Residents are invited to call or visit the district office with requests involving insects, rodents or other wildlife that are affecting their daily life.
Staff members are available to identify mosquitoes, wasps, ticks or other arthropods. Practical information is available on topics ranging from scabies and head lice, to wood boring beetles, yellowjackets and lesser house flies. If control measures appear needed, the district may include the site in its scheduled abatement program, arrange an appointment to perform the abatement, or offer advice or referrals to local licensed pest control operators.
Identifications
Both larval and adult identifications are routinely performed on mosquitoes obtained from district trapping and sampling programs, as well as from the public. The district also provides identification service for other biting and non-biting insect issues.
Ecological tests
The laboratory evaluates resistance of local mosquitoes to insecticides, and documents water quality parameters that could affect larval control measures: acidity, dissolved oxygen, chlorine levels, or salinity levels.
Special projects
There is an ongoing evaluation of control products and methods. Studies to maximize the effect of ultra low volume spray programs while minimizing residential exposure were undertaken. Insect growth regulator [Methoprene®] formulations were tested to find the most effective presentation (liquid, pellet, sand and briquette) under different conditions. New biological control products tested included Lagenidium giganteum (a fungus pathogenic to mosquitoes) and Bacillus sphaericus (a bacteria that infects larval mosquitoes). Research on alternative materials such as rosemary and oil of lemon eucalyptus are being conducted.
Collaborative research
The District lab works closely with the California State Vector-Borne Diseases Section of the Public Health Department, as well as with the Marin and Sonoma County Health departments. Recent studies on local ticks and tick-borne infections focus on the risk of acquiring Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Bartonella, Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever (RMSF), and Ehrlichiosis. Another concerns Hantavirus, and its possible presence in local rodent populations. This virus can cause severe respiratory distress in humans.
Training
The lab is involved in public, in-house and continuing professional training programs. Workshops and formal presentations are made to community and service organizations to maintain a two-way information flow between the district and the community. Recent workshops have dealt with yellow jacket control for local school districts and parks and recreation departments. Presentations are also made at local community colleges and high schools.