What's Biting People At An Oakdale Dog Park?

OAKDALE (CBS13) — A dog park infested with mosquitoes in Oakdale has the community buzzing with questions.

CBS13 first learned of the problem from social media earlier this week.

A woman and her daughter posted they were both bitten numerous times by a swarm of mosquitoes.

Marisela Wilkinson lives right across from the Oakdale dog park on Crane Road.

Her entire body was covered in mosquito bites.

Since last week, Wilkinson says she's been bitten by mosquitoes more often and during the day.

"I went out to mow the lawn and every time the lawnmower went through a shady area it was like a swarm of mosquitoes; I would look down and my legs were covered," Wilkinson said.

Marisela is not the only one in her family attacked by mosquitoes.

Her son Michael and daughter Kylie are also victims of these blood suckers.

"It's usually when I go to the park I get bitten a lot," Kylie said.

Now Wilkinson says she doesn't let her family outside, fearing they'll get bitten by a diseased mosquito.

"There's not threat of West Nile Virus, we call them nuisance mosquitoes," said Lloyd Douglass, manager of the East Side Mosquito Abatement District in Oakdale.

He says this type of Aedes mosquito hatches around this time of year.

"The harvest is going on and has displaced a lot of mosquitoes," Douglass added.

Douglass says the park is surrounded by mosquito-drawing pastures, adding the outbreak was also caused by the extreme heat from the weekend.

"Mosquitoes hatch off faster when the water is warm."

The city says it has scaled back its watering schedule around the park in an effort to deter the mosquitoes, which seems to be in greater number in recent years.

Mosquito abatement is now fogging the dog park, hoping to treat the outbreak.