About the District

The Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District is an independent, non-enterprise, special district in Northern California governed by California Mosquito and Vector Control Law and a seven-member Board of Trustees. The District operates under a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Public Health and staff are state certified as California Vector Control Technicians.

The District provides year-round services to Placer County residents by conducting community-wide vector surveillance, prevention and control services.  District technicians also promptly respond to reports of vector concerns or problems from the public and will conduct on-site inspections or provide information about vectors including mosquitoes, ticks, yellowjackets and rodents.

The current Roseville facility is a state-of-the art vector control facility that houses administrative offices, control operations, a mosquitofish rearing facility and our laboratory. The District also operates a substation near Truckee to provide vector control services to eastern Placer County.

Click to download our brochure: About the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District

History

  • 1996: Placer Mosquito Abatement District founded.

  • 1998: City of Lincoln passed a measure for a special tax to fund mosquito control services.

  • 2001: West County benefit assessment passed.

  • 2001: West County benefit assessment passed. Placer MAD started providing services.

  • 2002: Original Lincoln facility opened.

  • 2004: Annexed Sheridan from Sutter-Yuba Mosquito and Vector Control District. West Nile Virus Detected in Placer County.
  • 2005: East County benefit assessment passed.
  • 2006: Name changed to Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District. Expanded Services and Permanent Facility benefit assessment passed.

  • 2009: Tahoe substation opened.
  • 2010: Tick program started.
  • 2011: Moved to Roseville facility.
  • 2012: Yellowjacket program started.

  • 2016: Invasive mosquito pre-detection surveillance started. Drone program started.
  • 2019: First invasive mosquito detected in Placer County.

Although the Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District is one of the newest districts in the Sacramento region, Placer County has a rich history in mosquito control, having one of the first organized mosquito control campaigns in the state.

Gordon Patterson’s book, The Mosquito Crusades, details the beginning of the organized mosquito control effort in California.  According to Patterson, it all began when local Penryn clergyman Fred Morgan wrote a letter to William Herms, an entomologist at the University of California.

In his December 1909 letter, Morgan requested Herms’ aid in fighting the “malaria mosquito”.  Herms’ response to Morgan explained how the whole effort needed to begin with a comprehensive educational movement. After a series of Herms’ lectures and demonstrations that were presented in Loomis, Penryn, Auburn, Newcastle and Roseville, a permanent “anti-malaria-mosquito organization” was established in a small office donated by the Penryn Fruit Company. It was February 12, 1910.

In 1915, the California Legislature adopted the “Mosquito Abatement Act” to help protect people from health risks associated with mosquitoes. This provided the basis for creating Mosquito Abatement Districts throughout the state.

The original Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District, then known as the “Placer County Mosquito Abatement District”,” was originally formed in 1996 to provide mosquito abatement services within the original District boundaries in western Placer County.

The City of Lincoln passed a special tax measure to fund mosquito control services in 1998.

In July 2000, the county conducted an assessment ballot proceeding. The authority granted by the ballot proceedings established a funding mechanism to provide services within West County beginning July 2001.

In 2004, the District annexed the area of Sheridan from Sutter-Yuba Mosquito and Vector Control District and absorbed the portion of property tax allocations attributed to Sheridan to fund these services. That same year, the District authorized proceedings for a proposed special assessment for the East County area to provide services within east Placer County beginning in July 2005.

District Staff

The Placer Mosquito and Vector Control District staff works hard to protect public health in Placer County. To do this most effectively, our staff are assigned to the following departments: administration, public information and outreach, field operations, technical services and applied research. The District employs 23 regular full-time staff members and hires seasonal temporary staff during the peak mosquito season. The staff serves almost 400,000 Placer County residents in five cities, one town and unincorporated areas of Placer County. Our main office is located in Roseville and we have a substation in Truckee to support east Placer operations.  Our main office is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Staff can be reached at (916) 380-5444.

MANAGEMENT

Name Title
Joel Buettner, M.S. District Manager
Jake Hartle Assistant Manager

ADMINISTRATION

Name Title
Isabel Alvarez District/Board Secretary
Nikki Rockwell Accounting Technician

PUBLIC INFORMATION & OUTREACH

Name Title
Meagan Luevano Public Information Officer

TECHNICAL SERVICES & APPLIED RESEARCH

Name Title
Mary Sorensen, PhD, BCE Senior Research Scientist
Phillip Spinks, PhD Senior Research Scientist

EAST PLACER OPERATIONS

Name Title
Angella Falco Field Station Manager

WEST PLACER OPERATIONS

Name Title
Urban/Invasives
Michael Ashley Supervisor
Jason Smith Lead Vector Control Technician
Brent Geeve Vector Control Technician II
Steve Crosby Vector Control Technician II
Tom Moore Vector Control Technician II
Derek Tang Vector Control Technician I
Rural/Special Programs
Scott Schon Supervisor
Everado Ortiz Lead Vector Control Technician
Mike Beatty Vector Control Technician II
Brian Ghilarducci Vector Control Technician II
George Goss Vector Control Technician II
Tim Garner Vector Control Technician II
Ted Williams Vector Control Technician II
Vector Surveillance
Casey Hubble, M.S. Supervisor
Keiko Parker Vector Control Technician I
Tyler Stuhaan Vector Control Technician I
Marissa Utterback Vector Control Technician I