A logical and systematic plan for mosquito trapping and spraying is what Public Works Director Robin Cumbus described at the 23 April 2013 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission.

She said the county contracts with VSU for trapping and surveillance. Mosquitoes trapped either by the county or by VSU are sent to Public Health Atlanta for testing.

This testing is presumably for mosquito-borne diseases; According to USGS disease maps using CDC data, there were 15 cases of positive test results for West Nile virus in Lowndes County in 2012; that’s 13% of the total of 113 for the whole state.

She continued:

The county is laid out into a value-rated system. We took historical data like storm data, nursing homes, school bus stops, and we came up with the low kind of areas, and then on the high areas we basically focus in on those areas in larvaciding. Because we do not have the resources to cover the entire county without a helicopter, we try to make our efforts logical, systematic. And when we get complaints, we actually go out and take landing rates and we record them. So that way if we get another complaint in the same area we have something kind of gauge it. And once the landing counts get to a certain level then we may ask for permission to take it to another level or we may get a declaration for emergency.

I don’t know about you, but I’m just as glad that the county does not have a helicopter for spraying.

Here’s the video:

Mosquito trapping and spraying
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 23 April 2013.

-jsq

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