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Sacramento-Yolo vector control warns of invasive Aedes and expands sterile-mosquito trials near Rancho Cordova
Summary
Steve Ramos of the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District told the Rancho Cordova City Council the district found five West Nile–positive mosquito samples in the city last year, is seeing invasive Aedes aegypti locally and plans to expand a sterile insect technique pilot into Rosemont for 2026.
Steve Ramos, assistant manager at the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District, told the Rancho Cordova City Council that mosquito season has begun and that surveillance shows rising risks from both endemic and invasive vector species. Ramos said West Nile virus “continues to be the main threat” and reported that the district detected five West Nile–positive mosquito samples within Rancho Cordova last year and one West Nile–positive dead bird found inside city limits.
Ramos said the district has increased trapping and laboratory testing to guide treatments and noted that West Nile is likely underreported; he told the council that the Centers for Disease Control estimates 30 to 70 infections are unreported for every recorded neuroinvasive West Nile case. He also warned the council about growing local infestations of Aedes aegypti, an urban, day-biting mosquito that prefers small, cryptic backyard sources and can transmit dengue, chikungunya and Zika. “Aedes aegypti seems to really kind of taking center stage here,” Ramos said, describing both travel-related and a small number of locally transmitted dengue cases in California last year.
To slow invasive populations, the district said it will continue an integrated management program—public outreach, surveillance, biological control (including mosquito fish), ecological management and targeted treatments—and expand a sterile insect technique (SIT) trial that releases sterile male mosquitoes. Ramos described the SIT approach and reported promising results from a small South Natomas trial; staff plan to grow the program in 2026 and target Rosemont as a priority area.
Ramos urged residents to reduce standing water around homes, report dead birds, and use the district’s website (fighttobite.net) or hotline for assistance; he also invited neighborhood groups to request outreach presentations. "If you see issues, give us a call. We can come out and help with that," Ramos said.
The council received the update; no action was taken. The presentation highlighted surveillance findings and an operational shift toward expanding SIT while maintaining standard control and public-education efforts.
