LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — You may remember some of my stories about the painful mosquito invasions in parts of the valley. Experts say the record-breaking temperatures played a role in not only helping the population boom, but also helped the spread of West Nile virus cases.
While Clark County does have a Vector Control program now, some of those experts think a bigger abatement district could help.
WATCH | Here's what those public health experts are proposing
I caught up with UNLV experts and Clark County Vector Control, who are already at work to combat mosquitoes here in Southern Nevada.
And now, with warmer months on their way this spring, many of us are excited to get outdoors and enjoy the temperatures. However, some can't forget about the mosquito bites they dealt with last year.
I spent the day at Wetlands Park, where county crews have addressed the problem. Experts are weighing in on whether more can be done—experts like Christopher Bramley with Vector Control.
"We are trying to do a preemptive strike on the mosquitoes," Bramley said.
Last year, I told you how Clark County is using a drone to fight the mosquitoes. Bramley, the Vector Control supervisor, told me the drone use is only a few years old, but it is essential in spraying pesticides over county waterways—like at Wetlands—and even the Colorado River for flies. He says only environmentally safe and sound larvicides are used.
"We have a mosquito breeding season that starts now, and then to our monsoon season we have floodwater mosquitoes—so we have multiple types of species of mosquitoes that live in different aspects of our valley," Bramley said.
In recent years, and more specifically 2024, many of you reported more severe mosquito bites, causing a spike in calls received by the county.
"The mosquito problem has grown as we have grown," Bramley said.
An invasive type of mosquito called the Aedes aegypti is causing a lot of frustration for a tiny bug, as it's newer to Las Vegas and only needs a bottle cap of water to breed.
I spoke to Dr. Louisa Messenger at UNLV last year about the spread of mosquitoes and associated diseases. When I spoke to her again this year, she said the concern remains.
"In the end, we had close to 26 human cases—many of which were neuroinvasive," Dr. Messenger said.
Aedes aegypti first appeared in Las Vegas in 2017. Dr. Messenger shared these maps that show a difference between 2025 into 2030.
2030 shows expanded highlighted areas compared to now. This shows where experts expect Aedes aegypti to spread, totaling 75 zip codes.
"There needs to be a conversation about abatement control," Dr. Messenger said.
David Brown is sounding the alarm, too. He is a special project coordination for the American Mosquito Control Association and the former director of a mosquito abatement district in Sacramento, Calif. He moved to Las Vegas in recent years.
"I think there needs to be the development of an integrated mosquito management district," Brown said. "Nevada has the statutes on file that will allow that to happen."
Brown and Dr. Messenger say in the coming months they plan to release a survey to see if residents are interested in more being done. They will share that data with lawmakers.
"Where we're at right now is we need to get the general public involved because that's who the county commissioners, the elected officials are going to listen to and that's where we want to try to work together to identify just how bad the public is seeing the mosquito problem," Brown said.
"We can always do more," Bramley said. "Those decisions are made above my pay grade."
Bramley said their staff of five does what it can for the county, but we can all do our part to help limit the standing water on our properties.
"We're never gonna get rid of them, but we can maybe suppress them," he said.
The most important part in addressing these mosquitoes is everyone doing their part and dumping standing water throughout the summer months.