Mosquito control for the daytime biters

Because Los Angeles now has invasive Aedes mosquitoes, three species of them, and unlike the native dawn-and-dusk biters, they bite aggressively in daylight, often around ankles and lower legs. If you are being bitten at lunch in the backyard, that is almost certainly who it is.

In tiny amounts of water you would never notice: plant saucers, bromeliads, toys, buckets, clogged gutters, drain grates, tarp folds and even bottle caps. Invasive Aedes lay eggs in containers holding as little as a teaspoon of water, and those eggs survive dry for up to two years until the next watering.

A barrier treatment on the foliage and shaded resting spots where adults sit during the day kills them as they land and cuts biting sharply for weeks. It works best paired with source reduction, because without dumping and treating the breeding containers, new adults keep hatching into the treated yard.

District crews focus on public spaces, standing water at public sites and disease surveillance, and they serve millions of residents with small staffs. Private backyards are left to the homeowner, which is where a recurring yard program fits.

The main season runs roughly June through November, with the worst biting in late summer. Mild winters and irrigation mean activity can start earlier and run later, so programs are scheduled across the whole warm stretch.