Service Request Information and Instructions

San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District prides itself on providing the highest quality of service to county residents. Click on any of our services below to learn more about how we can help. Please be prepared to include the required information when you request service.

Problems with Mosquitoes

You do not need to be home in order to have your property surveyed or treated for mosquitoes. Please indicate if there are any obstacles such as locked gates, dogs, etc. which could prevent access to your property.

May contain: wasp, animal, invertebrate, insect, bee, hornet, and andrena

Ground Nesting Yellowjackets

Our District only provides service for ground nesting yellowjackets. Aerial nesting yellowjackets and wasps are beneficial insects (wasps eat live insects); therefore, they are not considered a nuisance and do not warrant control. We cannot provide services for yellowjackets within structures.

Side view of a roof rat, which is a long dark grey body with pink ears and feet, and a dark tail as long (or longer!) than its body.

Rats/Mice

After submitting your request for service, a Vector Control Technician will contact you to arrange for an appointment time. The technician will conduct an inspection of the exterior of your home and your property and make recommendations for rodent exclusion and control measures, as well as what you can do to make your yard less attractive to rats and mice.

Top-down views of black-and-white drawings of a carpet beetle, a cockroach, and a rat mite. The carpet beetle is an oval shape, with two short antennae on the head and 6 short legs. The cockroach has two long antennae, 6 legs, and two small protrusions from its back end. The mite has a few white lines showing what the squiggly digestive tract looks like inside the mite. The mite has 8 legs - two pairs are on the front end of its body and two pairs are on the back end.

Insect Idenitification

Any undamaged specimen can be brought into our office and identified. Information about where the specimen was found is helpful.

Hands under water with small brown fish swimming above

Request Mosquito Fish for your Backyard Pond or Water Garden

Mosquito fish can be delivered to any resident of San Mateo County. In most cases, deliveries can be made as early as the next business day.

A black magnifying glass focuses on a dark brown adult tick

Tick Identification and Surveillance

Any tick can be brought into our lab and identified. The specimen must be alive and kept in a plastic bag with a moist paper towel to keep the specimen moist. We do annual tick collection and testing on popular hiking trails throughout San Mateo County.

May contain: bush, vegetation, plant, nature, outdoors, jungle, tree, land, and rainforest

Bees

Bees are generally non-aggressive toward humans unless their nest is disturbed. If you find a nest and want it removed, please contact San Mateo County Beekeeper’s Guild at (650) 365-5548. San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District does not provide removal or abatement services for bees.

Black icon of a bird lying on its back with feet in the air (meant to represent a dead bird)

Dead Birds

Dead birds and squirrels are often the first indicator that West Nile virus exists in an area.

Mosquito on a white background. The mosquito has an abdomen full of dark red blood. The mosquito is mainly black, with some white stripes on its legs.

Invasive Aedes Reports

If you have a mosquito sample available, please select insect ID. Let us know when and where you collected the sample (indoors/outdoors, address, time of day, etc.). You can drop the sample off at our office anytime we’re open, or we will send a technician to pick it up.

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