Lee County-- Flood cleanup continues in Lee County, and now, a new problem has hatched-- Mosquitoes. Standing water has become the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Public works crews have been working overtime to keep them under control.
The phone at Lee County public works has been ringing off the hook. "It's like every five minutes. We actually had 230 calls last week due to the water and all the mosquito problems. The calls have not stopped. Even this morning I think the majority of every call I've taken has been about mosquitos," says Kathryn Gammage.
Public works crews began spraying the entire county last week. They've got two trucks running, one on each side of the county. "We're running four hours on each truck a night. They're running five days a week and we'll keep it going until we get these things settled down a little bit," says Mike Sistrunk.
And with all the standing water around the county officials say it could take a while before things settle down. "With all this rain that we've received it's created a lot of problems. It's going to take a while to get this under control, but we just want to assure the citizens that we are doing everything we can for them," says Sistrunk.
But there are a couple things the county says homeowners can do as well. "These are the mosquito pellets and what you'll need to do is follow the instructions. We're actually giving out the 30-day mosquito pellets for homeowners for one time, and then they can go purchase them from Lowe's or Bennetts. But the guys are actually going out to all the holding ponds, any easements that are holding water and putting 150-day pellets in those," says Gammage.
There are 12 pellets in each bag and they come with instructions for homeowners. And officials say they aren't harmful to animals and pets.
Public works officials say one of the biggest problems they have is just standing water at homes that has collected in old tires, buckets, and wheelbarrows. Sometimes that can create an even bigger problem than ponding water. So just remember to dump all of that water around your home.
If you want to report a problem with standing water or want more information about how to get a bag of mosquito pellets call the Lee County public works office at 759-6028. you must be a Lee County resident to get the pellets free of charge.
posted by dave.miller@walb.com
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