Official: Buck Gully free of mosquitoes

A recent inspection showed no mosquitoes in Lower Buck Gully, a city official said this week.

“Vector Control was out last week,” Robert Stein, an assistant Newport Beach engineer, said in an email. “No sightings of mosquitoes.”

Some residents along Lower Buck Gully expressed concern about potential mosquito problems because an erosion project that was completed earlier this year resulted in standing water that by spring had turned green with algae.

At the time, inspectors said there was no sign of mosquito larvae but promised to continue to monitor the area.

The bright green algae that was floating on the water just above Little Corona Beach has faded, and the hot summer weather has dried the water pools.

The $2-million Lower Buck Gully erosion project began last year in an effort to protect the hillsides above the gully.

At Tuesday’s Newport Beach City Council meeting, Councilwoman Leslie Daigle reported on the Orange County Vector Control District, of which she is a board member.

Vector Control officials recently confirmed a case of West Nile virus in a bird in Anaheim, and Daigle said that the disease can spread from birds, particularly sparrows and finches and birds that live near reservoirs, to humans through mosquito bites.

Experts urge residents who see dead birds to call Vector Control at (949) 654-2421.

She also said residents can protect themselves by eliminating standing water near their homes, making sure screens on doors and windows are in good repair and using insect repellent.

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