Mosquitoes - Mr. Stokes - Lack of control

To: Katherine Miller - STAFF WRITER - The Crowley Post-Signal

You wrote: “In the meantime, however, we have been able to treat and control further breeding of this certain mosquito. It is a different type of mosquito than we normally have in the area,” Stokes explained. CrowleyToday.com http://www.crowleytoday.com/node/10894

What is “this certain mosquito”?” I don’t know, but I do know that the mosquito that is causing everyone of us so much grieve is The Dark Ricefield Mosquito, Psorophora Columbiae… the most common mosquito in Acadia Parish! It's the most common mosquito in all southwestern Louisiana!!

The is not a new mosquito here. .My grandfather was bitten by them long before I was alive!

"Psorophora columbiae reaches its greatest abundance in the rice growing areas of the southwestern U. S. where astronomical numbers, similar in magnitude to the production of saltmarsh mosquitoes, may occur." (According to Wing Beats of the AMCA, the official publication of the Florida Mosquito Control Association: Meisch, M.V. 1994. The dark ricefield mosquito Psorophora columbiae. Wing Beats, Vol. 5(1):8.. http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/sp4.htm, - Isn't the internet great!)

If Mr. Stokes does not know that this is the historically our “most common mosquito” in Acadia parish and is not a “different type of mosquito” then why is he competent enough for the people of Acadia Parish to pay him to run our mosquito control in this (or any other) parish?

As far as Mr. Stokes being “able to treat and control further breeding of this certain mosquito”, I jusst found out that The Dark Ricefield Mosquito has “only one generation is produced per flooding.” http://www.maricopa.gov/EnvSvc/VectorControl/Mosquitos/MosqInfo.aspx

So, these mosquitoes from the Gustav flooding are here (and eatin’ my kids and grand kids up) but the ones from Ike's flooding should be ready to start coming out of Acadia’s rice fields, pastures, and ditches real soon... Isn’t that right - two different floodings, two different hatches?

I’d like to know:

How did Mr. Stokes control the further breeding?

Did he treat this entire parish with larvicide? Has he treated anything?

Has he been using his airplane to control them? Or does he have an airplane?

NO - Acadia parish does have an airplane anymore!!!! My friend on the Council (who shall go unnamed - to protect the innocent) told me that Mr. Stokes did tell the Parish Council that here in Acadia, we "did not need an airplane" and the parish was “wasting money” on an airplane!

Well, I just wish that little plane had been flying over my house for the last three weeks… Instead of waiting on some contract crop duster to come down here and save us....

And how much does Mr. Stokes get when this contract drop duster sprays us????

Covered with bites near Crowley...