Mosquitoes out in full force - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Mosquitoes out in full force

^ Donnell Mathis ^ Donnell Mathis

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March 24, 2003

Albany - Rainy days left pools of standing water, creating havens for breeding mosquitoes. More mosquitoes foreshadow more cases of the West Nile Virus, which killed 277 people across America last year.

Millions of mosquito larvae are just waiting to mature in standing water across Dougherty County, but environmental control workers are working overtime to make sure that doesn't happen.

Mosquitoes don't stop Edison Moncrief from coming out to the fishing hole. "The mosquitoes don't bother me. I guess they don't like the taste of my meat," Moncrief said as he laughed. Unfortunately, not all of us are so lucky. "I'm don't have his luck," said Dougherty County school police officer Wonzi Gardner. "I wonder what deodorant he uses, because the repellents aren't working for me," joked Gardner.

Gardner, like many others, has already noticed the mosquitoes are out if full force. "Around 5:30 to 6:00pm each night, the mosquitoes have been terrible."

Trucks spraying two mosquito pesticides are circling Dougherty County trying to kill the pest. "We've already made one sweep of the county spraying the chemical aqua-reslin," said Environmental Control Manager Donell Mathis. "We plan to spray again next week."

Standing pools of water are havens of mosquitos, so Mathis says killing the pest may take a little longer this year. Health officials warn we'll likely see more case of the West Nile Virus since the mosquito population is thriving. But, wearing insect repellent and long sleeves can protect you from getting bitten by a disease infected mosquito.

Don't rely solely on the county spraying trucks to kill mosquitoes around your home. Make sure you empty any standing water, like bird feeders and dog bowls. If you don't see a drop in the number of mosquitos around your home, you can call the Environmental Control Department They will come out and spray your area again and treat the standing water with the pesticide tablets.

Forty-three cases of West Nile Virus were reported last year in Georgia and seven people died from the disease.

Posted at 5:25PM by kathryn.murchison@walb.com