NAMPA, Idaho (AP) — Mosquito abatement is a month early in Canyon County, as this year's flooding at the edge of Lake Lowell has produced prime real estate for an infestation.

KIVI-TV reports the high water levels are due to irrigation in anticipation of a dry summer. The shallow, shaded, food-filled water provides mosquitoes with the perfect environment to reproduce.

Abatement officials are using bacterial poison while the water is still too cold for the larvae to take flight. Ed Burnett of the Canyon County Abatement District says he's worried a slight uptick in temperatures could spur West Nile virus in the area.

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