Millions of critters and mosquitoes are planning their rebirth in Liberty County, and, unfortunately, they’re imminently headed to a neighborhood near you.
But Liberty County Mosquito Control Director Jack Vereen is preparing for this widespread nuisance with tactics and tools of his own to combat the problem in the unincorporated areas of the county.
With the backing of Assistant County Administrator Bob Sprinkel, Vereen has purchased a new, ultra-low volume spray unit accompanied by a computer-tracking system to increase the efficiency of mosquito spraying.
The tracking system precisely records where the truck has been driven, and how much it has sprayed in a given area.
The unit also calibrates the insecticide spray ratio with the speed of the vehicle so no matter how fast or slow, any given area still gets the same amount of spray, Sprinkel said.
“By the end of next year, we hope to get these new spray units and tracking systems in our other three trucks. They would be a good addition, and would help our cause out greatly,” Vereen said.
Even with this new equipment, Vereen stressed the public needs to assist him to help control the problem.
“Liberty County residents need to remove any fillable containers from their yards, even a thimble or a bottle cap can provide the breeding ground for mosquito larvae. Residents should also clean their gutters, and remove any trash from their property,” he said.
An area entomologist, Dr, Rosmarie Kelly, petitioned to the county government and said it would be in their better interests to up the funding of this program.
“South of Macon, diseases like Eastern equine encephalitis are an endemic to the area, and the funding needs to be increased so we can accurately document the types, and numbers of mosquitoes, and we need to broaden our testing to get a better idea of where certain diseases may be concentrated among mosquitoes,” she said.
But Liberty County Mosquito Control Director Jack Vereen is preparing for this widespread nuisance with tactics and tools of his own to combat the problem in the unincorporated areas of the county.
With the backing of Assistant County Administrator Bob Sprinkel, Vereen has purchased a new, ultra-low volume spray unit accompanied by a computer-tracking system to increase the efficiency of mosquito spraying.
The tracking system precisely records where the truck has been driven, and how much it has sprayed in a given area.
The unit also calibrates the insecticide spray ratio with the speed of the vehicle so no matter how fast or slow, any given area still gets the same amount of spray, Sprinkel said.
“By the end of next year, we hope to get these new spray units and tracking systems in our other three trucks. They would be a good addition, and would help our cause out greatly,” Vereen said.
Even with this new equipment, Vereen stressed the public needs to assist him to help control the problem.
“Liberty County residents need to remove any fillable containers from their yards, even a thimble or a bottle cap can provide the breeding ground for mosquito larvae. Residents should also clean their gutters, and remove any trash from their property,” he said.
An area entomologist, Dr, Rosmarie Kelly, petitioned to the county government and said it would be in their better interests to up the funding of this program.
“South of Macon, diseases like Eastern equine encephalitis are an endemic to the area, and the funding needs to be increased so we can accurately document the types, and numbers of mosquitoes, and we need to broaden our testing to get a better idea of where certain diseases may be concentrated among mosquitoes,” she said.