GRAND TERRACE - People are spraying pesticide around their homes, calling the kids and dogs in at dusk, replacing window screens and refusing to sit outside in the evening.

They are also slathering on insect repellant in massive amounts judging by a statewide spike in sales.

The response to the first two deaths in California from the rapidly spreading West Nile virus appears to be more prevention than panic, with few reports that the mosquito-borne illness is causing people to cancel outdoor vacation plans or make drastic lifestyle changes.

"We're taking precautions, but you can only do so much," said David Wilson, 61, a neighbor of Morris Sternberg, the 75-year-old man who died Saturday from encephalitis caused by the virus.

West Nile has been detected in birds throughout much of the state. As of Wednesday, it had infected 79 people in the state, all in Southern California except for three cases in Kern and Fresno counties, according to the Department of Health Services.

Sternberg, a well-known real estate agent in the small city of Grand Terrace, was the second person in California to die of the illness within six weeks. Neighbors suspect he was bitten on his front porch, where he often sat in a hammock.

His death prompted a flurry of pest-control activity along his street and elsewhere in Grand Terrace, which sits at the base of Blue Mountain in San Bernardino County on what was once sloping orange groves.

Mark Jolstead, 50, said he and others went door-to-door looking for stagnant water and hired pest control companies to spray their homes.

Zelda Morris, 80, said she no longer sits outside at night. Marnie Burkett, 79, whose great-grandchildren live in the neighborhood, said the kids can't play in the back yard in the evening and must wear insect repellant.

Officials said James Damiano, 57, of Fullerton became the state's first victim of West Nile when he died on June 24.

To avoid the virus, which killed 262 people in the United States last year, officials recommend avoiding mosquitos by eliminating pools of stagnant water, wearing long sleeves if outside at dusk or dawn, and using mosquito repellant that contains the chemical known as DEET.

Many are apparently following the advice. In the last week of July, Longs Drug Stores chain, which has 80 percent of its outlets in California, sold four times as much insect repellent than during the same period last year, company spokeswoman Phyllis Proffer said.

As of Memorial Day, sales of repellant were up 17 percent in California over last year, and 9 percent nationally, according to the most recent data available from tracking firm A.C. Nielsen.

"I'd say most of it is being driven by West Nile virus," said Jackson Sieber, a product manager for Cutter Insect Repellant, the nation's second-largest brand. New products may also be a factor in the increase, he said.

West Nile is carried by birds but only transmitted to humans by mosquitos. About 20 percent of those bitten by an infected insect show flu-like symptoms, and less than 1 percent die from the illness, according to health authorities. There is no approved vaccine or treatment.

State public health officer Richard J. Jackson has warned of a significant West Nile season in California this year. The season is even worse in neighboring Arizona.

So far at least, the California warnings seem to have caused ripples of concern but not much more.

Park agencies throughout California have gotten phone calls with questions about the virus, but officials reported no mass cancelations, perhaps owing to the relative low risk of infection.

"You're more likely to have a bear try to break into your car," said Alexandra Picavet, a spokeswoman for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, where rangers received just one phone call from a family asking if it was safe to visit.

Still, the situation could change if there are more deaths.

Cherie Wilson, a neighbor and co-worker of Sternberg's, said his death caused her to take the virus more seriously.

"I was worried about it before, but when it's in your own back yard it's a much more scary thing," she said.

On the Net:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/

California: http://www.westnile.ca.gov/