Mosquito spray services continue with the use of Air Force C-130H
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- The heavy rains from recent hurricanes has brought on more mosquitoes.
The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is working with Barksdale Air Force Base to deal with the problem.
"The resources in this area have kind of been tapped out a little bit, so we're here to augment the efforts that are going on by the local areas and the contractors," Lt. Colonel Jennifer Remmers said.
"So we are working closely with them to put out a product that will contact the mosquitoes and kill them."
Major Ryan Cooley says parishes come up with bug counts. This determines the target areas. Once target areas are determined the treatment begins.
Lt. Remmers says so far the treatment has significantly decreased the number of mosquitoes.
"In the areas that are affected, they are getting as many as 100 mosquito bites in a minute on some of these counts. After our sprays, typically we can lower that to less than five in a minute. Historically speaking that's what happened during Harvey, during hurricane Katrina that's what happened so we're hoping for the same thing here. It seems like we're getting good feedback."
The following is an Oct. 27, 2020, statement from Lafayette Consolidated Government on upcoming spraying operations:
(LCG)- After an influx of mosquitos in Lafayette Parish following Hurricanes Laura and Delta, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and the Louisiana Department of Health have coordinated aerial mosquito spraying for the Parish. The United States Air Force’s 910th Airlift Wing, based in Youngstown, OH, is expected to complete their spraying mission in Lafayette Parish on Thursday, October 29, 2020, weather permitting. Spraying began on Monday, October 26, 2020 and approximately 105,000 acres were covered. Thursday night’s mission will cover the 31,000 acres that remain.
There will be no flights this evening or tomorrow due to Hurricane Zeta. After Thursday, NO further spraying is expected in Lafayette parish.
The operation will take place starting at dusk and will continue for up to five hours. During that time, an Air Force C-130H, modified with the Modular Aerial Spray System (MASS), will disperse the pesticide “naled”. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website, “naled is most commonly applied aerially as an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray. ULV sprayers mounted on planes or helicopters dispense very fine aerosol droplets containing small quantities of insecticide that drift through the air and kill mosquitoes on contact. The spray is dilute (only 1-2 tablespoons of naled is applied per acre sprayed) and the amount that ultimately floats to the ground is small and dissipates quickly.” Spraying during these hours will minimize the effects on bees, butterflies, and other insect populations.