ThisWeek CW 08/07/2014
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/08/04/resident-seeks-city-help-to-eradicate-mosquitoes.html
A resident asked Groveport City Council last week for help eradicating mosquitoes near her Holton Street home.
Joyce Fridley asked for help at the July 28 city council meeting regarding a mosquito infestation she said is related to culverts on the United McGill property located a few yards away, across Blacklick Street.
“I don’t know if anything is being done about the mosquitoes because I’ve tried contacting the board of health but can’t get through to them,” Fridley said.
“I think the biggest issue is the United McGill property because there’s so much brush collecting water and when we sit in our yard, even with all sorts of citronella candles, we still can’t do it.”
Fridley said she’s concerned about West Nile virus, which is particularly dangerous to senior citizens and children.
“I’ve seen them fog for mosquitoes just once,” she said. “I’m not saying they haven’t done more, but I haven’t seen them … and there are kids next door and I’m worried for them about the West Nile.”
City Administrator Marsha Hall said Groveport’s contract with the Franklin County Board of Health includes several different measures for combating mosquito populations, particularly in regard to the spread of West Nile virus.
“We contract with the board of health and they come out in the spring to fog, then they don’t fog anymore,” Hall said. “Instead, they use pellets to kill the larvae in the standing water. They monitor for the virus with traps, and then if they feel there’s a problem in the summer, they’ll come out again and fog.”
Hall said the city is also able to put its own pellets in areas where there is standing water to help with the general mosquito populations, but the Franklin County Board of Health is responsible for monitoring and determining if further measures are necessary to combat the spread of virus.
“If you go to Groveport.org, there’s a link to the board of health site that shows by community a report, and they haven’t found anything close to Groveport with West Nile, but if they find that, then they’ll fog,” Hall said.
For the time being, Hall told Fridley she would send Public Works Superintendent Dennis Moore out to the area to place pellets.
A direct link to the Franklin County Health Department mosquito program with information about testing methods and preventive measures is available online at myfcph.org/ mosqmgmt_surv.php.
To request services from the county via phone, call 614-525-2483.