City spraying for mosquitoes

The city of Eunice is one of the only cities in the area spraying regularly for mosquitoes, Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot said.
The spraying has been underway for the past three months, he said.
Recent rains have prompted discussions at St. Landry Parish Council meetings about spraying to kill mosquitoes in the parish.
Concerns are raised in reference to the Zika virus. Louisiana also is vulnerable to the West Nile virus.
Parish President Bill Fontenot said the mosquito situation is being monitored locally and the state Department of Health.
Fontenot often notes the parish has an an area of about 1,000 square miles and noted at a Sept. 7 meeting that if spraying is related to recent flooding FEMA would require the parish pay 25 percent of the cost.
Jerry Red, an Opelousas Parish Council member, said, “I think we need to spray for mosquitoes at whatever cost. My reason for saying that is with the concern of the Zika virus and everything else.”
Fontenot said he communicates regularly with the state health department.
“If there are specific areas that they feel there are issues, I do order some spot spraying. I pay the job per job, which is not that expensive when it is a subdivision or something like that,” Fontenot said.
The Eunice mayor believes Acadia Parish has a mosquito-spraying program.