Just as West Nile virus season gets underway, the state is lifting some regulations that local mosquito control officials say were getting in the way of their work.

At issue were requirements to monitor the levels of chemicals used against mosquitoes still in the larval stage.

Erika Castillo with the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District says the chemicals are already regulated under federal law.  She says the state requirements were redundant and made technicians less efficient.

"The additional paperwork takes them out of the field doing the work they need to be doing," Castillo says, "inspecting and treating sources to prevent mosquitoes from developing," 

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says stopping mosquitoes before they hatch is the safer way to stop the spread of West Nile.

That's because battling adult mosquitoes requires more toxic pesticides.