Foreclosure "Bloodsuckers" May Pose Threat, Raise Concerns In Northern Virginia

In Northern Virginia, the Fairfax County Times reports:

• The phrase “bloodsucker” is being bandied about in some conversations about the foreclosure crisis in Fairfax County, but not in the way that one might suspect. According to the Fairfax-based National Pest Management Association, an unexpected consequence of the rising number of foreclosures in Fairfax County is the number of unoccupied, unkempt properties and their potential for breeding mosquito populations that could heighten the risk of West Nile virus cases this summer.

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• “Any yard that is unattended and has any container that can hold water – even a plastic tarp or a black corrugated plastic drainpipe – is an excellent breeding ground for the Asian tiger mosquito,” said Jorge R. Arias, supervisor of the Fairfax County Health Department's Disease Carrying Insects Program.

For more, see Foreclosure crisis breeds new threat.