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Budget shortfall puts bite on residents
By Dan Beard
Contributor
Published May 22, 2009
Recent wet weather and budget problems preventing spraying to control insects have combined to allow mosquitoes to breed unchecked in Paris.
The County Health department normally does the mosquito control spraying in Paris, but Anthony Bethel of the Lamar County Health Department reports a shortfall of $24,000 in this year’s budget and a vehicle sorely in need of repairs are mostly to blame for the recent growth of the mosquito problem in Paris.
“We haven’t been able to start as early this year due to budget shortfalls,” Bethel said. “The City Council chose not to fund us at 100 percent this year, and the county decided to cut back as well, resulting in a $24,000 budget shortfall.”
The health department only has one truck equipped to do mosquito spraying, and according to Bethel, “We’ve only got one truck, and it’s an ‘89 model year and it’s in pretty bad shape. It will need work before it can be used this year.”
The vehicle was given to the health department, “after the city was done with it,” Bethel said.
“Normally, we’d start earlier than this. We spray the city mainly. Normally we’d be spraying five days a week by now,” Bethel said. “I have two guys to do it. One comes in at three or four in the morning and goes until after daylight, about 9 a.m. The other guy starts about five in the evening and goes till about 10 p.m.”
Weather conditions also play a role in determining when spraying can occur.
“You can’t spray if the wind is 10 miles per hour or more, and you can’t spray if the temperature drops below 55 degrees,” Bethel said.
“We use two systems. The truck uses a spray to knock down the adults. We use Permethrine in that.”
We also use mineral oil and growth hormones on standing water,” Bethel added. “We use ‘dunks’ for biological control, too. But anybody can use those. If you’ve got standing water on your place, you can get those yourself at Walmart.”
Once repaired, the spraying truck will also be used out in the county.
“We spray places like Roxton, Blossom and Reno two to three times a year, too — mostly when they call,” Bethel said.
In the long run, the delayed start of spraying in Paris, and the increase in the annoying and disease carrying mosquitoes, mostly the Asian Tiger variety, can be attributed directly to the budget shortfall. According to Bethel, “My board told me that because the city is where most of the spraying is done, that’s where I needed to make up the shortfall.” Therefore spraying has not yet started.
“We hope to start pretty soon,” Bethel said, “But we’ve got to get the truck fixed first.”
According to the Center For Disease Control Web site, “the Asian Tiger mosquito (Ochlerataus albopictus),” common in Paris, “is an invasive species discovered in discarded tires in Houston, Texas in 1985, and is now found in 33 states. The species is an aggressive ‘day’ biter and an efficient vector for several infectious diseases including, equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, dengue fever, chikungunya fever and heartworm in dogs.”
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