Neighbor takes action after KXAN investigates kids 'swarmed' by mosquitos

Lex Salazar said her toddler couldn’t go in their backyard in Buda without getting attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. She believed the large number of pests was coming from a neighboring business’ property. After a year of trying to get the business to help, with no success, Salazar reported her problem to the KXAN Investigates Team and within days the business owner took action.

BUDA, Texas (KXAN) – The green cylinder perched on a pole in the back corner of Lex Salazar’s yard is there for defense, but it also collects evidence of the extreme mosquito problem she said she’s been dealing with.

“Just a bunch of dead bugs,” she said as she opened the door on the bottom of the bug catcher and a pile of pests fell out. "Mainly mosquitoes and moths."

“This trap is supposed to cover an acre and, as you can see, our lawn is not an acre,” she said referencing her backyard in Buda.

Salazar said at certain times of the day, her son and other kids in the Buda neighborhood, “can’t even go in their backyard without getting literally swarmed by mosquitos.”

She added, “I’ve had multiple exterminators come and flat out tell me that 'you have a serious mosquito infestation.'”

In addition to the mosquitos, Salazar said rattlesnakes are coming into her yard.

“On like these two fence lines,” she recalled, “three rattlesnakes in two weeks.”

By using traps, keeping her lawn cut and making sure there’s no standing water to breed mosquitoes, the mother said she’s been vigilant about trying to keep critters out of her backyard.

The problem, she said, is her neighbor directly behind her back fence isn’t doing the same.

Her backyard shares a fence with the back of the property for Kiva, a construction company the owner told KXAN Investigator Mike Rush has been there more than 20 years. It specializes in installing water and sewer storm drains.

In addition to overgrown vegetation, including trees pushing into and separating portions of the fence, there are what appear to be discarded materials Salazar said can collect water.

“I get its Texas,” she said. “I get that there’s mosquitoes. It is the amount that we have because of the breeding ground behind us.”

Salazar shared an email chain with KXAN which shows she first contacted Kiva in June of last year, asking them to clean up near the property line because of the mosquitos and snakes.

“It was kind of back and forth and then radio silence,” she said. “And then whenever I reached back out, they actually then said, 'that’s not our property.'”

When KXAN Investigator Mike Rush reached out to Kiva’s owner, he told Rush he’s been there much longer than Salazar and she should’ve considered what was behind her before moving in.

Before hanging up on Rush, he suggested the issues could stem from nearby farmland that he doesn’t own.

But the next day, Kiva’s office manager, Cassandra Walker, who Rush had also spoken with, came to Salazar’s backyard to investigate.

“When you called me,” Walker said to Rush, "I said, ‘let me come see what she sees because we can’t see it.’”

Walker listened to Salazar’s concerns, took pictures and even looked at a map as she gathered information to bring back to the owner. 

“I just want to verify that it is his property and then see what we can do to help out,” she told Rush.

In response to having Walker come out after trying for so long to resolve the issue, Salazar said, “I just felt heard finally, so I’m thankful for that.”

Kiva is located just outside of Buda, in Hays County. In response to a public information request KXAN sent to Hays County asking if any county agency had investigated issues regarding the status of Kiva’s property, the county public information coordinator responded, "This is an open/pending investigation. There are currently no documents available. I spoke with inspector and no citations or notice of violations have been issued at this time.”

Three days after Walker’s visit, Kiva crews began clearing out the trees and brush and had plans to move materials that may collect water away from the property line.

Walker confirmed to KXAN the property behind Salazar’s backyard belongs to Kiva.

“I’m also thankful for KXAN,” Salazar said. “You guys knew who to go to and within, you know, within the week that I reached out initially, there was contact and there was progress towards fixing the issue."

Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle, Investigative Photojournalist Chris Nelson, Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report.