Reader Rich asks: “In a recent story about the upcoming mosquito-control spraying, no mention was made of Little LaGrange, LaGrange Gut, or Mahogany Road Gut. Was this merely an oversight, or do the Environmental Health people truly plan to omit these areas …?”
The Source contacted V.I. Department of Health spokeswoman Eunice Bedminster for answers.
“All of the areas in the west are covered,” she said. There are too many neighborhoods to list individually, she said, adding that Health "just lists the areas where some of the calls to Environmental Health come from the most.”
Mosquitoes breed in small pools of stagnant water such as old tires, bottles, puddles and plant pots. The water guts are not stagnant, but presently flowing strongly and so are not good breeding grounds, she said.
Fogging and spraying are not enough to eliminate all risk of being bit by a dengue-infected mosquito, especially at time like now when conditions are right for them to breed, Bedminster said.
“It’s important too to fix holes in your screens and keep them from getting into your home,” she said. She also urged residents to go around their properties and empty out any containers holding water; spray in closet and dark areas where dengue-carrying mosquitoes tend to hide; wear long sleeves and long pants when practical and use insect repellent.
