Virus outbreak has council concerned

A simple call will send mosquito sprayers to you

After mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus were found in Ormond, Montz and Norco last month, the entomologist for the parish’s mosquito control office filled the council in on what he is doing to keep the pesky bugs to a minimum.

Steven Pavlovich showed the council several methods used to keep mosquitoes under control parishwide. He also addressed council concerns about areas in the parish where mosquito infestation seems heaviest.

“In my district, the mosquitoes are really bad,” Councilman Shelley Tastet said. “What times do you guys spray for mosquitoes in the Willowridge/Willowdale area?”

Although Pavlovich agreed with Tastet that the mosquito population is heavy in those neighborhoods because of marsh and wooded areas, he says there’s no set time to spray for mosquitoes.

“We have 21 traps set up all over the parish and we base our schedule on the greatest amount of mosquitoes collected from traps in that area,” he said. “That is how we determine which area gets sprayed first.”

But even though spraying does take place in areas of need, Parish President V. J. St. Pierre wanted to know why the parish wasn’t notified immediately when the West Nile virus first showed up on the east bank.

Pavlovich has since agreed to include council members and administrators on his notification list.
“When we discovered the West Nile virus in those areas in the parish, we did go door to door and left hangers informing residents to take precautions,” he said. “There have been very few cases of the West Nile Virus detected in people in the parish, but none so far this year.”

Pavlovich said he couldn’t recommend a particular insect repellent for residents to use to protect themselves from bites, but he said the health department can provide that type of information to residents.

However, his office can come by and spray when requested.

“If you call our office because you’re having problems and our guys haven’t gotten to you yet, we will go out and spray,” he said.
Residents experiencing a problem in their subdivision can call the Mosquito Control Office in Hahnville at 985-783-2417.

Pavlovich says they’ll send a truck out to spray for free.