Copyright © 2021 Roswell Daily Record
With rainfall totals of around 6 inches since June 28, Roswell residents might be noticing more mosquitoes as they are out and about.
The Chaves County Road Department oversees vector control — or methods to limit or eradicate insects and animals that transmit disease — for the county and works with the cities in the county as well, Angelo Gurule, road technical supervisor for Chaves County, said.
Mostly that means controlling mosquitoes.
“We spray on a weekly basis in major areas such as the golf courses, city parks and any place that people gather on a regular basis in the outdoors,” he said.
Jim Burress, special services director for the city of Roswell, said the Parks Department will work with the county’s vector control to spray as soon as parks dry out.
Support Local Journalism
Subscribe to the Roswell Daily Record today.
“We can’t get our equipment in there or it sinks,” Burress said.
The county sprays an adulticide, which kills adult mosquitoes.
“It’s a fog, a mist. We only do that early in the morning. You can’t do it in direct sunlight because it kills it. Usually we are out spraying anywhere from midnight to daybreak,” Gurule said.
With all the standing water from the recent rains, crews are out surveying to help find problem areas, he said.
“With all the water that’s come down with this rain, there’s standing water where there wasn’t before,” he said.
“We’re doing surveillance. We dip the waters and look for larvae and signs of mosquitoes. We treat that and try to get them before they mature,” he said.
Waters are treated with an oil film, adulticides or larvicides, he said.
“Everything we use is safe for everything but the mosquitoes,” he said.
In surveilling areas for mosquitoes, crews try to identify the species of mosquitoes as well.
“There’s many different species, and different species carry a different vector,” he said.
More than 200 species can be found in the U.S., and about a dozen can spread disease to humans and animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The West Nile and Zika viruses are the most common, according to the CDC, but Gurule said there haven’t been reports of either of those in a couple of years.
The last West Nile case in Chaves County was reported in 2015, according to the New Mexico Department of Health. There have been a total of 24 cases in the county since 2003.
Only three cases have been identified in the state this year as of May 21 in San Juan, Curry and Bernalillo counties, according to NMDOH.
One case of Zika virus in Chaves County was reported in 2016, one of 10 cases that year. NMDOH said all of those cases were in travelers infected abroad and diagnosed after returning home. There have been no cases of Zika virus in the state since that year.
The county typically won’t spray on private land unless an emergency is declared, Gurule said, but he offered some tips for people to help control mosquitoes on their property.
“They can keep their lawns mowed, the grass and weeds in the alleys and everyplace else. They live in the weeds if there’s no standing water,” he said.
“Keep your dog dishes clean. Make sure they’re always changed out and don’t let them get any kind of algae or anything. The larva needs something to eat and if it’s clean, clear water, there’s nothing there for them to eat,” he said.
Swimming pools need to be kept clean as well, he said.
“Swimming pools are one of our worst enemies here. People let them get out of hand and that stagnant water is just a great place for them to breed,” he said.
Old tires and other items that can fill with water are also common breeding grounds, he said.
City/RISD reporter Juno Ogle can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 205, or reporter04@rdrnews.com.
"need" - Google News
July 08, 2021 at 11:10AM
https://ift.tt/3AHHW4b
Rainfall brings more need for mosquito control - Roswell Daily Record
"need" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3c23wne
https://ift.tt/2YsHiXz
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Rainfall brings more need for mosquito control - Roswell Daily Record"
Post a Comment