Mosquito season is here again

Anyone driving the rural roads of Vermilion Parish quickly realizes it is a perfect breeding haven for the insect responsible for more human deaths worldwide than any species of the Kingdom Animalia . . . the mosquito. The majority of the 1,416 square miles in Vermilion are composed of saltmarsh, rice/crawfish field, cypress swamp or open septic ditch.

With the increasing temperatures come bountiful mosquito populations. Typically every April, , the Vermilion Parish Mosquito Control (VPMC) kicks off its ground adulticiding for mosquitoes. West Nile Virus is well-documented throughout Louisiana. VPMC is sufficiently funded and staffed to help defend our residents and visitors from mosquitoes.

Significant upgrades in technology and equipment have been implemented over the last several years thanks to two grants we have received. In 2004, VPMC was awarded a one-time state grant of $100K. With that money, VPMC acquired new trucks, GPS computers for the trucks, and new surveillance traps.

After Hurricane Rita, the parish was sprayed by the U.S. Air Force, as well as aerial contractors, and our trucks. This timely and well-coordinated response aided in recovery efforts. FEMA reimbursed our efforts to the tune of nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

In 2007, VPMC received a $169K federal grant. Some of the tools we purchased were more trucks; more surveillance traps; new lab equipment; and a GIS database used to track mosquito populations, treatment efforts, as well as verified disease locations.

VPMC cooperates with other mosquito districts throughout the state, as well as the Louisiana Dept. of Health and Hospitals, and the LSU Vet School to share information and to remain abreast of emerging diseases or trends. We follow guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (i.e., surveillance, larviciding, adulticiding, etc.).

A critical aspect of mosquito control is management of insecticide resistance among the mosquito populations. You see, mosquito control only has a handful of chemical compounds we can use to control the pests, so it is paramount to maintain that small arsenal. When mosquitoes become resistant to one product, it will likely not be useful in that area for decades, if ever. There are several guidelines we use to prevent this, among which are resistance monitoring, chemistry rotation, and targeted and surveillance - based applications. The CDC recommends another vital method for areas untreated. Frequent use of a single ingredient over prolonged periods (or spraying year-round) will certainly build resistance. This phenomenon is documented in several districts throughout the south. At that point, the insecticide to which the mosquitoes are resistant is no longer lethal to the insects throughout much, if not all areas of that district. Incidentally, the mosquito most commonly positive for WNV in Louisiana, develops resistance quicker than any other mosquito in our area.

VPMC utilizes various trap types and locations to monitor both mosquito populations and virus. The primary virus we are hunting is West Nile, but LSU Vet School also tests mosquito pools for other forms of encephalitis. We fully expect to find WNV in Vermilion Parish again this year, but our aim is to locate most or all of the infected mosquito populations and spray adulticides by truck/airplane in those areas until the virus cycle is interrupted. Once a human is infected, repeatedly spraying that area is pointless because it may be 4 to 6 weeks behind the infection date. That’s like coming home from a two-week vacation, finding out you’ve been robbed, and firing you gun out the window. Pointless.

So you know the drill. If you must be outside when mosquitoes are present, protect yourself with clothing that covers most of your body, wear DEET, and remove or regularly empty anything in your yard that hold water for more than three days - and don’t for get to keep your gutters clear of debris.

Have a safe summer. Vermilion Parish Mosquito Control is doing our part to help.

To discuss, call Billy Noegel, Direvto, Vermilion Parish Mosquito Control at 898-4330. More information is also available at our website: www.vppublicworks.org.