Allen Parish Mosquito Control met with the Allen Parish Police Jury on Wednesday and discussed the surge in mosquitoes since Hurricane Laura.
Keith Strother and his son Trevor Strother tried to explain the process and are very interested in sharing information with the public to educate them on the importance of mosquito control.
They said that they are working with FEMA to do aerial spraying. This can only be done 10 days after a big storm like Hurricane Laura.
This is the period when the new mosquitos from the storm have hatched, laid eggs and those eggs have hatched as well.
Keith said, they can only kill mosquitoes in flight, that if “it ain’t flying, it ain’t dying.” He also said they are only allowed to spray an area 25-35 times a year. They have six trucks that cover all of Allen Parish.
They are requesting jors to remind residents that if you call 318-215-0029 and get the voicemail to leave a message, and they will return your call. “The secretary is not there 24/7 and we are trying to get to each person as quickly as possible.”
They wanted to remind everyone they are watched closely by the EPA and have to enforce the guidelines. “It is not that we don’t want to help, it is that sometimes we just can’t due to restrictions as well as other duties. We don’t just spray for mosquitoes. We catch them and test them for disease. If the public knew the number of diseases found in the area mosquito population, they would be mortified. We have had no human cases though. That tells you we are doing our job. Getting rid of mosquitoes is important, but getting rid of disease is even more so.”
He said they have traps set up all over the parish. These traps show them which areas have the biggest population. “If you see we are spraying an area more than another it is because our traps are telling us that area is more populated. If you need to be sprayed just call us. We will come as soon as possible. We are regulated on things such as wind and weather, but if it is possible we will spray.”
