Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control representatives told the Cypress City Council on July 14 that simple household actions — dumping standing water weekly and maintaining screens — remain the first line of defense against mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease.

Brian Bannon, the districts public information officer, told the council the agencys mission is "to educate and protect the good people of Orange County from vectors and vector borne diseases in an environmentally responsible manner." He described the agencys layered approach: public education, surveillance using trap grids, biological control such as mosquito-eating fish, and larvicide or adulticide spraying only when traps indicate disease risk.

Bannon warned that a single pool or an unmaintained swimming pool can breed hundreds of thousands of larvae; the district reported reaching 300,000 larvae in a single pool during a recent check. He described two species of particular concern: the routine Culex mosquitoes that bite at dawn and dusk and can carry West Nile virus, and the invasive Aedes aegypti, which can breed in very small containers, lay eggs that remain viable for months, and spread dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever in other regions.

The district urged residents to:
- Check for and drain standing water weekly (birdbaths, planters, drains, bromeliads and bottle caps can breed mosquitoes).
- Repair window screens and keep doors closed.
- Use EPA-recommended repellents such as DEET at recommended concentrations for personal protection.

Bannon described newer tools the district is testing: drones for wetland applications and a sterile-male technique that separates, sterilizes and releases male mosquitoes to reduce breeding. He said the county has not yet recorded local human transmission of dengue and that the California Department of Public Health map still shows Orange County without human West Nile virus cases while neighboring counties have reported cases.

Bannon asked residents to call the district for home inspections; several councilmembers and the mayor thanked the presenter and said the city shares the districts educational materials on city social channels.

No action was required by the council; the presentation was informational.