Santa Cruz County Mosquito Abatement and Vector Control CSA 53 (“DISTRICT”) was established by Board resolution in 1993 through CA Government Code (25210) in response to many years of public demand for relief from mosquitoes. The purpose of the program is the protection of public health from mosquito and vector-borne diseases. It was formed as a Division within the County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office. The Agricultural Commissioner serves as the Director of the program.
The program’s primary function is mosquito surveillance and control following Integrated Pest Management practices incorporating public education, biological control, source reduction and least toxic pesticides that have minimal impact on people, wildlife, and the environment. Surveillance includes sampling immature mosquitoes in water bodies and monitoring populations of adult mosquitoes using traps. Treatments are focused on the immature, aquatic stage of the mosquito because this approach is the most effective and environmentally sound.
In August 2005 property owners approved the North County Mosquito and Disease Control Assessment that expanded the program’s mosquito control operations from the original two “zones of benefit” (which lie within the Aptos and Pajaro Supervisorial Districts) to the entire County, following city-supported annexations of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley, increasing the area served from approximately 70 square miles to 445 square miles. Abatement powers are authorized within County Code (Chapter 1.14) and the California Health and Safety Code (Division 3, Chapter 1, Section 2000 et seq.).
Service Area and Heat Map of Requests over the last 3 years
