Los Banos Rotary Club History
Tells of Skeeter Control Work

A lot of Los Banos people this week have a much keener appreciation for the work the Merced County Mosquito Abatement District is doing to eliminate disease-bearing and pest mosquitoes throughout the county, thanks to the efforts of the district’s entomologist, Edgar A. Smith, who in the last week has spoken before several local service group luncheons and at the two local schools.

Speaking at the Rotary Club luncheon Tuesday noon, Smith emphasized the enormous amount of control work necessary in this, the largest mosquito control district in the state. Because most of our mosquitoes come from irrigated pasture and swamp land and poorly drained alfalfa fields, Smith stated frankly that full control can never be accomplished without the complete cooperation and aid of the farmers, who can easily eliminate mosquito breeding areas by improved irrigation methods and installation of simple drainage ditches which will not only eliminate the mosquitoes but be profitable from standpoint of better crop production.

Water, Smith emphasized, is the one all-important item around which all mosquito control centers, because water is absolutely necessary for completion of the mosquito’s life cycle. In this connection, Smith discounted the popular belief that mosquitoes hatch and develop in hedges, lawns, shrubbery, etc. this erroneous impression is prompted by the fact that the mosquitoes, on reaching adult stage, find excellent protection from the sun in the shade of the foliage.

Smith said his office has to date identified 19 different kinds of mosquitoes in this county, of which the two most numerous species are the dreaded carriers of malaria and sleeping sickness. Each specie has its own peculiarities, feeding and breeding habits, but all have the common four-stage life cycle: egg, wiggler, pupa or tumbler, and full grown winged mosquitoes.

As to the size of the job here in the county, Smith said that last year the district maintained control over some 80,000 acres of permanent pasture, plus some 800,000 acres of unirrigated pasture land. As an example of the rapid rate of reproduction, Smith stated that with only 100 eggs deposited on an acre of neglected pasture land last fall, 5,000 mosquitoes would be developed within two weeks after the first spring irrigation, and their descendants, in less than two months, would number well over 625 million – enough to give everybody in the county a definitely bad time.

Commenting on the importance of proper irrigation, the speaker cited one 1,000-acre field of permanent pasture near Merced which in previous years was possibly the county’s most prolific mosquito source. Today, the owners have constructed a drainage system to carry off surplus water and one man, with a small jeep spray outfit, can now maintain control over the entire area.
L. J. Spindt, local school principal and member of the Abatement District board of directors, also spoke briefly at the luncheon, explaining the operations of the district, and outlining the proposed budget for the coming year. Spindt said that during the district’s initial year they received much low-cost and free spray materials from government surplus and also received considerable state aid, which will not be forthcoming next year. To properly do the job to obtain satisfactory control. Spindt said it will be necessary for the county supervisors to authorize an additional tax appropriation. Numerous members of the club voiced favorable expressions as to a proposed tax increase for this purpose, and praised the work that has been done thus far.

Following the talks Smith showed an educational Walt Disney cartoon prepared especially for the U.S. Army, showing the Seven Dwarfs doing mosquito control work, together with scenes showing life history of mosquitoes and areas in which they abound. The film is being shown at all schools in the county as well as before civic and service groups. Any group wishing the film for their program is asked to contact Smith or the district manager, Wesley Ewing, at Merced.

May 13, 1947

2009 Editor's Note: The above may be refering to this movie: "The Winged Scourge" which may be found, (at the time of this writing), here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y68F8YwLWdg

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