West Nile virus is a disease transmitted to humans by culex mosquitoes. The goal of the City of Loveland mosquito management program is to reduce the risk of human infection by partnering with the City's vendor, Vector Disease Control International (VDCI), for monitoring and mitigation. VDCI will begin its seasonal mosquito surveillance across Loveland this week. Traps will be administered to 40 locations. If a trap comes back with over 100 total mosquitoes or over 50 culex mosquitoes, the surrounding area will be sprayed. The 2024 surveillance season will be conducted each week to monitor the areas.
VDCI mosquito control includes:
Weekly efforts to track mosquito activity, quantity and location to directly target impacted areas.
Testing mosquitoes for West Nile virus.
Mosquito fog-spraying in targeted public areas.
Eliminate mosquito larva while they are still in their aquatic habitat whenever possible.
VDCI’s control measures allow for more targeted mitigation efforts to effectively manage mosquito populations. Standing water zones are located, mapped and sampled weekly for the presence of mosquito larva, and treated with a larvicide when larva is found. Mosquito fog-spraying is only conducted when adult mosquito populations reach target nuisance thresholds, or when prevalence of diseases, such as West Nile virus, are elevated.
As an example, the Culex mosquito species is the main carrier of West Nile Virus in the area. When VDCI monitors Culex mosquito counts exceeding 50 per zone-trap, the company will initiate fog-spraying of that zone in order to reduce the disease threat to humans.
Residents can see a current, interactive map of all Loveland mosquito surveillance data, including specific zones, mosquito quantities, West Nile Virus activity (positive or negative) through VDCI’s website here.
Loveland spray schedules can be found at vdci.net/colorado-schedules under Larimer County. Residents who would like to receive a call notification before spraying begins and residents who want to submit a shut-off request can submit those through an online form or by calling (970) 278-9977.
In addition to mosquito mitigation through VDCI, the City reminds the public to remember to use the four D’s to help prevent West Nile virus disease:
DEET or other effective mosquito repellent: Use an EPA-registered mosquito repellent that has been proven to be effective against West Nile Virus-carrying mosquitoes. DEET, Picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (also called p-menthane-3,8-diol or PMD) and IR3535 are good choices.
Dusk to Dawn: Avoid exposure during peak Culex mosquito feeding times, from dusk through dawn.
Dress: Wear long sleeves and pants to keep mosquitoes from biting.
Drain: Remove standing water in yards or garden to minimize mosquito breeding areas. Eliminate any standing water areas on and around private property. Almost any water (even a very small amount) that stands for more than five days has the potential to produce mosquitoes.
Since 1986, The City has contracted out its mosquito control program. VDCI provides an integrated mosquito control service including surveillance, electronic mapping, applying larvacide or adulticide, education, and public outreach.
Mosquito Control services are contracted through the City’s VDCI contractor and managed by the Public Works Department. Funding is supported through the Mosquito Control Enterprise Fund, collected on the City of Loveland Utility Bill. For information about the City of Loveland budget, visit letstalkloveland.org/Budget.
