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Board accepts Mohave County mosquito surveillance plan, will prioritize larvicide amid budget shift
Summary
The Mohave County Board of Health reviewed and accepted the Environmental Health Division's mosquito surveillance and mitigation plan. County staff said larviciding and surveillance will continue but fogging (adulticide) could be reduced as a $25,000 general fund transfer was cut for FY26.
The Mohave County Board of Health voted to accept the Department of Public Health Environmental Health Division’s mosquito surveillance and mitigation program after a presentation on local mosquito species, trapping results and mitigation options.
Tara Stanek, Environmental Health, told the board the division had set nearly 2,000 traps between 2017 and 2023 and collected nearly 3.8 million mosquitoes; the division identified nine species in Mohave County and noted that Culex mosquitoes (a West Nile virus vector), Aedes aegypti (vectors for dengue, Zika and chikungunya) and the abundant Ceratopogonidae floodwater species are present. The department said Culex pools have been tested for West Nile virus; of the pools tested between 2017 and 2023, 20 pools were positive.
Stanek described mitigation tools: larvicide applications for source reduction, which she called most effective but more costly and requiring certified applicators; and adulticide (fogging), which offers short‑term adult mosquito knockdown but limited reach. She told the board that planned program priorities would focus on surveillance and larviciding, and that fogging could be curtailed after the county’s $25,000 general fund transfer to the Bullhead City pest abatement program was paused for FY26.
Bullhead City municipal entomologist Dr. Michael Caballero spoke in support of increased trapping and interjurisdictional coordination, saying "mosquitoes don't care about municipal boundaries," and urging continued collaboration between the city, county and tribal partners.
Supervisor Caroline Strecker asked about testing and cost figures; county staff clarified that “pool” testing refers to groups of 1–50 trapped mosquitoes placed into a vial and analyzed for West Nile virus, not to swimming‑pool testing. The board voted to accept the program plan; the motion passed on a voice vote and the record shows an affirmative outcome.
