Vicious ankle biter mosquitoes capable of spreading dengue fever invade California coastal city
These mosquitoes don’t wait for dusk and go straight for your ankles!Yellow fever mosquitoes native to Sub-Saharan Africa have been wreaking havoc in several neighborhoods of picturesque coastal areas in Southern California.Santa Barbara County’s Mosquito and Vector Management District confirmed that four ‘Aedes aegypti’ blood-suckers were found on Oct.30 near North Voluntario and East Cota streets.The agency said a total of four ‘Aedes aegypti’ mosquitoes, capable of causing dengue fever, were trapped in different locations across Santa Barbara last week.
Two were found near North Voluntario and Cota streets, one at Laguna and East Carrillo, and one near East Victoria and Olive.According to the District, the same species was found Oct.20 in the eastern Goleta Valley, near Turnpike Road and Calle Real, and in Carpinteria in July.A second non-native species is already in town.
Australian backyard mosquitoes, ‘Aedes notoscriptus,’ were found in Santa Barbara’s West Side in March and in the Mesa neighborhood in June.Both species like to bite around the feet and ankles, and they do it during the day, indoors and out.Residents tormented by the pests have named them “ankle biters.”“Please contact the District if you find yourself being bitten by aggressive mosquitoes indoors or outdoors during daytime hours,” the agency said, asking residents to call 805-969-5050 or send a message through the “Contact Us” page on its website.Santa Barbara’s troubles come as the whole region swelters through what many residents call a year of agony.
Record-shattering heat waves and El Niño threats have turned Southern California into a breeding paradise for the winged pests.“I’ve been here my whole life and the amount of mosquitoes I’ve seen this summer has been insane,” one woman said in a TikTok video that has drawn more than 21,000 likes.Los Angeles County has recorded over 180 cases of West Nile virus this year—the highest spike in nearly a...