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Highlands Today

County Considering Spraying For Mosquitoes

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

A field in Lorida has standing water on Aug. 20 after Tropical Storm Fay. The County is considering a countywide mosquito spraying program in the near future.

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: September 3, 2008

SEBRING - Edgar Stokes, chairman of the Highlands County commissioners, kicked off the county's investigation into spraying pesticides, by both airplanes and trucks, to battle the expected hordes of mosquitoes that will probably descend on the county in the wake of Fay and the three new tropical storms headed toward or near the Florida peninsula.

How bad are the mosquitoes right now from the flood and standing waters left by Tropical Storm Fay?

"It's so bad the armadillos won't come out of their holes," Stokes, a cattle rancher in Lorida, quipped, bringing the only round of laughter Tuesday during the serious discussion on how bad the mosquito infestation may become and how the county could fight it.

"In the southern end of the county," said Commissioner Don Bates, "I've gotten requests for mosquito spraying."

"I have too, out on the prairie," Stokes added, referring to the Lorida area.

Commissioner Guy Maxcy said he's received requests for mosquito spraying in a number of Sebring area subdivisions, including Leisure Lakes, Golf Hammock and Sebring Hills.

Stokes reported a growing mosquito problem all along the overflowed banks of Arbuckle Creek.

Vicki Pontius, director of the parks and recreation department, said an estimate for a complete mosquito spraying program for the entire county was given at about $700,000, and that was several years ago.

Pontius also reported that the county has no regular mosquito control program, but it has sprayed in the wake of tropical storms that bring heavy infestations of blood-sucking insects that can carry West Nile Virus and other diseases.

Several years ago, to gauge whether the public would be willing to pay for mosquito control programs, Pontius took the $700,000 estimated cost and computed that the owner of the averaged priced home in Highlands County would have to pay an additional $38 per year in property taxes to fund it.

That information was sent out to property owners in their TRIM notices several years ago, along with a request to tell the county whether they would be wiling to pay the extra $38 per year.

Overwhelmingly, Pontius said, the homeowners said the county should have a complete mosquito control program. They also said overwhelmingly that they would refuse to pay any property taxes to fund mosquito control.

County Administrator Michael Wright said it would take several weeks to get the necessary permits to use insecticide sprays. He said he will begin the permitting process in case the commissioners do decide to spray pesticides.

With tropical storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine having formed, Wright said, the biggest danger appears to be the additional rainfall that will hit this county, whether or not the storms get near Highlands County.

The five commissioners agreed with Wright that there would be no sense in spraying before the three current storms run their course.

Questions about the wisdom and consequences of spraying insecticides to kill mosquitoes were raised by Hilary Swain, executive director of Archbold Biological Station and a member of the Highlands County Natural Resources Advisory Committee.

Swain said the University of Florida has experts who can present both the pros and the cons of spraying. She asked the commissioners to invite those experts to a future county commission meeting so that the commissioners and the public can get the facts before a decision on spraying is made.

With a phone call to the right University of Florida office, Swain said, the commissioners can line up a session with scientists who are "extremely knowledgeable about mosquito control."

"In 2002," Maxcy said "we had the scare about the West Nile Virus" when the mosquito population boomed.

"That's here too," Stokes added, referring not to the appearance of the disease but to fears about it.

Pricing for mosquito spraying is $48 per mile of road sprayed by truck and $48,500 for aerial spraying, Pontius told the commissioners.

There are about 1,500 miles of roads to spray, and many acres to spray by plane, she said, "so it's not a little cost." Urban areas and subdivisions would be ground sprayed by truck, while aerial spraying would be needed for rural areas, Pontius said.

Commissioner Barbara Stewart pointed out that applications of the pesticides would have to be made multiple times.

How bad the mosquito infestation will get and how soon the first cold snap will come and stop the problem are unknowns. Wright and the county commissioners agreed Tuesday to start work right now to be ready to deal with the problem.

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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