Experts seek source of mosquito increase near Fairview Park

A recent survey addressing a reported increase of mosquitoes in Costa Mesa neighborhoods north of Fairview Park has come up short on finding the source of the problem.

Reacting to Swan Drive residents’ concerns that increased mosquito activity was due to breeding in the park’s 37-acre Wetlands and Riparian Habitat, Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District staff conducted studies.

Vector control staff installed traps in the neighborhood and studied the wetlands habitat, which opened in early 2013 and contains several man-made ponds and streams that filter urban runoff.

“Vector control staff was clear in that the increase of mosquito activity could not be attributed to the wetlands,” city spokesman Tony Dodero said in a press briefing this week.

Vector control’s trap counts, he added, were consistent with normal counts found citywide.

“Although the source of mosquito breeding has not been clearly determined,” Dodero said, “the vector control district and the city are partnering to combat this problem.”

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