Cattail Creek: Mosquitoes and Mosquito abatement

Look for the shallow depression to your right — this is what we call Cattail Creek, even though it’s not actually a creek. It’s a seasonal swale, a gentle dip in the landscape that only holds water when the Mokelumne River rises and slowly filters into the ground.

This entire area used to be a wetland environment with lots of standing water, a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. To manage the problem, Lodi mosquito abatement teams dug this ditch to improve drainage. They come out annually to maintain it, clearing debris so water doesn’t become stagnant. When water is present, they introduce mosquitofish, small fish that eat mosquito larvae. These efforts help control mosquito populations, reducing the spread of diseases like West Nile virus, so people can safely enjoy this recreation area. This demonstartes that it takes many different teams to care for this area.